STAFF working in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) have been left “traumatised”working in “war zone conditions” due to chronic overcrowding, according to patients who participated in a new online survey.
In total, 112 patients participated in a patient survey of healthcare services in the Mid-West region from December 29 to January 6.
Up to 27 patients had used the Emergency Department in UHL during the Christmas period.
Patients said UHL is a “disaster” as “staff absences are sky high”. One patient recalled waiting on a trolley and chair from Monday until Saturday morning.
Another respondent claimed they were left waiting for hours before they left as it was like a “war zone”.
“The staff are traumatised and should not have to work in these war zone conditions especially when we are not in a war zone country,” one patient said.
“The patient experience is awful and the staff are dealing with sick scared people daily.”
The lack of 24-hour emergency care in Clare was highlighted several times with patients stated a new Model Three hospital should be provided in Clare.
One patient said they tried to get a bed in Ennis Hospital but it was full.
“Clare people deserve so much more than the scraps they are being thrown,” said another patient.
The comments published by the FOH coincide with another surge in overcrowding in the Mid-West, which totalled 164 on Monday.
This included 138 people left waiting for beds in UHL, 16 in Ennis and ten in Nenagh.
The Mid-West Hospital Campaign condemned these figures as a “national scandal” that demands immediate action.
Of the 24% who attended the ED in UHL all but two were brought by ambulance.
The ambulance service received a huge amount of praise with comments like the paramedics were “fabulous, kind, calm and reassuring”.
Inside the ED in UHL the patient experience varied ranging from patients who praised nurses, some patients were treated very professionally and one was discharged from the ED in UHL in under four hours and was very happy with their care.
One patient described the staff as “top notch”.
Four in ten respondents rated the ED in UHL as excellent. However, the group also received some negative feedback, with 13.33% giving it a very poor rating.
The group stated considering all the media coverage about the pressure the Mid-West healthcare system is under, it performed adequately over the period in question.
FOH Chairperson, Angela Coll, said long trolley waiting times are very common, citing a case of a patient who was admitted on a trolley in UHL on a Sunday and remained without a bed until Thursday.
“While there is a priority given to those 75 and older when beds are being allocated, UHL doesn’t have enough beds to cater to the needs of the Mid-West population,” she said.
“This is before you factor in the impact of the increase in the ‘flu, common cold, vomiting bug and other sickness.
“All hospitals are under pressure but UHL doesn’t have any release valve.
“People are going to end up on trolleys in UHL until another ED is provided. The 72 new beds in the 96-bed block is not going to solve the trolley problem when you have more than 100 people on trolleys and other people in surge beds.
“All elective procedures in UHL have been cancelled and these beds have been turned into surge beds for ED patients. Patients will remember their bad experiences far more than their good ones in a hospital.”
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.