Trolley numbers at University Hospital Limerick have reached record levels in the first seven months of this year.
The latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives organisation show there were more than 4,780 patients on trolleys between January and July, the highest number of any hospital in the country.
Clare FM’s Fiona McGarry Reports:
It’s two months since the new Emergency Department opened at University Hospital Limerick, but, as expected, the facility has had limited impact on trolley numbers.
The INMO’s says the number of people waiting on trolleys reached a twelve-year high at Dooradoyle in July, with 662 patients left waiting for beds across the month.
There has also been record levels of overcrowding across the first seven months of this year, with 4,782 people waiting for beds between January and July.
This is the highest figure ever recorded there, and the highest number of any hospital in the country.
Management at the hospital have previously said that additional bed capacity is required to ease overcrowding, and plans for a new 96-bed unit are progressing.
At Ennis General Hospital, the number of patients awaiting treatment has more than halved.
The INMO has described its figures as “alarming” and says there’s been a record number of patients admitted to hospitals this year.
The Organisation say additional staff and funding is needed to meet demand.
