Nurses say trolley numbers at the region’s main hospital dropped by 5% in June.
But the latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation shows that despite the reduction in the level of overcrowding, University Hospital Limerick was once again one of the busiest in the country.
Trolley numbers were up however, both at Ennis General Hospital and nationally over the past four weeks.
833 patients were left waiting on trolleys at the region’s main hospital in June, a fall of 50 on the same month last year.
But according to the latest INMO figures, University Hospital Limerick was one of the busiest in the country once again, with Cork University Hospital recording a figure that was higher by only one.
Ennis General Hospital saw trolley numbers climb from 7 in the past month, from 3 in June 2018, while nationally, there was a 7% increase in overcrowding, compared to the same period last year.
Nurses say there’s no longer a summer respite when it comes to overcrowding and that summer 2019 is as bad as winter was five years ago.
The INMO is warning that under staffing is driving year-round unsafe conditions and that the Government and the HSE need to get a handle on the problem, by implementing the Safe Staffing Framework and making real progress on Sláintecare.
