There’s been another major jump in overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick today.
54 patients have been awaiting admission to the hospital this morning, a figure which is at least double that in nearly every other hospital in Ireland.
The INMO recorded 54 patients awaiting admission to the region’s main hospital this morning, according to their daily Trolleywatch Statistics.
The figure, which includes 34 in the hospital’s ED, is at least 25 more than every other hospital in the country.
By comparison, there are 24 people awaiting admission in Waterford, 22 in Galway, 16 in Cork and Tallaght and 10 in Beaumont.
Today’s figure, while high, isn’t the highest of this week.
On Wednesday, in what’s believed to be the highest number ever recorded in August, there were 57 patients at trolleys at UHL.
There had been a reprieve yesterday, but much of that now appears to have been wiped out.
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s statistics, the hospital released a statement saying its ED is the busiest in Ireland, and that it has gotten even busier since the opening of a new 24 million euro facility in May.
Attendances are up nearly 10% in the first half of the year, and officials say increased complexity is also a factor.
When the new ED opened, officials admitted that a shortage of bed capacity needed to be addressed to ease pressures and a 96-bed unit is currently in the design stage.
