Nurses say the level of overcrowding at the region’s main hospital dropped by 13% this month compared to the record high in the same month last year.
The latest trolleywatch analysis from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation shows close to two thousand admitted patients were left waiting for beds at University Hospital Limerick in February.
Ennis Hospital saw a significant jump in trolley numbers, however.
1,938 admitted patients were left waiting on trolleys or chairs at University Hospital Limerick this month, according to the latest INMO figures.
That’s a reduction of 309 on February 2024, when a record 2,247 were left waiting for beds, but it’s still 24% higher than the same month two years previous.
The level of overcrowding at UHL continues to be the highest in the country, with 919 more patients on trolleys there than the next busiest facility; Galway University Hospital.
That means the hospitals in the two counties bordering Clare were once again the busiest in the country this month.
Ennis Hospital, meanwhile, saw a significant increase in trolley numbers, with 178 admitted patients on trolleys in February, a rise of 71 on the same month last year, or a rise of 66%.
Overall, 11,318 admitted patients were waiting for beds at hospitals across the country this month, the highest number since records began.
The INMO says the levels of overcrowding in February were completely unacceptable and has described “attempts by the HSE to downplay the situation in our hospitals” as “extremely cynical”.
The nurses’ union insists “there must be a change in mindset in how we approach this overcrowding crisis” across senior decision-makers, hospital management and HSE senior management levels.
