The level of overcrowding at the region’s main hospital has reached a record high.
New figures from the INMO show there were more than 6,500 people left waiting for a bed at University Hospital Limerick, in the first nine months of this year, up by almost 700 on the same period last year.
While in September alone, 902 people were waiting on admission, the highest ever figure for that month.
73,556 patients admitted for care were on trolleys in Irish hospitals so far this year – including a record 8,101 in the past month alone.
But it’s University Hospital Limerick that’s head and shoulders above other facilities in the country when it comes to overcrowding.
In the first nine months of the year, 6,519 people have been left waiting for a bed in the hospital’s ED – including over 900 in September alone.
That’s significantly higher than the next busiest facility in Cork, where just over 5,000 patients were in that position.
The news comes despite the opening of UHL’s new emergency department in June – as well as a new 17-bed short-stay unit in a refurbished section of the old ED.
The INMO says the situation has gone “beyond breaking point” and they’re calling for both HIQA and the Health and Safety Authority to carry out inspections at all hospitals.
