Nurses say there’s been a 35% increase in the level of overcrowding at the region’s main hospital in the past month.
The latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation shows almost 900 people were left waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick – the highest recorded in the country once again.
Record numbers are continuing to be left waiting on trolleys at the region’s main hospital, according to the INMO.
The nursing union’s latest trolleywatch analysis shows 897 patients were left waiting for beds at University Hospital Limerick, the highest ever level of overcrowing recorded at any hospital in Ireland in the month of July.
This represents a 35% increase on the same month last year and a 629% increase in the past decade.
Ennis General Hospital saw a marginal rise in trolley numbers to 4, compared to none in the same month last year, though the number has fallen by 6 on July 2017.
The INMO claims the HSE is “sleepwalking into another winter crisis” and has sought discussions on which services will be curtailed so that “nursing staff can work in safe environments”.
Figures released by the Workplace Relations Commission show there are 159 unfilled nursing vacancies at hospitals around the country, while the HSE says 57 additional nurses are needed for admitted patients who don’t have a bed.
