Nurses say there’s been a significant spike in the level of overcrowding at the region’s main hospital today.
The latest figures from the INMO show 62 patients were waiting for beds at University Hospital Limerick this morning, 34 of those in the emergency department.
It’s 17 more than the next busiest facility, and comes on a day when 544 patients are waiting on trolleys at hospitals across the country.
The UL Hospitals Group has said that a high number of patients presenting over the weekend resulted in the high numbers waiting in the ED and that by by 1 o’clock, the numbers awaiting access to a bed in the ED stood at 20.
In a statement to Clare FM, the hospital says “There is an extraordinary high number of patients presenting requiring isolation and they are appropriately allocated to single rooms in the ED while awaiting results of diagnostic tests such as flu swabs.
“These patients cannot be moved until their diagnosis has been confirmed. During the morning a number of isolation patients are removed from the isolation list and are discharged home, however many still require admission for medical reasons.
“Every morning we move up to 23 patients who are waiting for beds from the ED to wards, so that patients can access the first beds that are vacated by early morning discharges following doctor’s rounds. This number reduces over the day as patients are discharged.
“Currently there 10 patients with confirmed flu across the group.
“UL Hospitals Group regrets that any patient has to face long waits in our ED during busy periods and any distress or inconvenience which this causes to patients and their loved ones.
“The new ED at UHL has designated spaces for 49 patients and admitted patients waiting for a bed are often in single rooms or designated bays.
“While patients still face delays in the new ED, it provides for a much improved patient experience compared to the old department which had 33 bays and has greatly improved the privacy, safety and dignity of our patients. Patients in the new ED have access to some of the most advanced diagnostics equipment in the country in the department itself”, the statement concluded.
