The number of people waiting on trolleys at the region’s main hospital last month more than doubled in the past five years.
Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show nearly 1,500 people were on trolleys throughout February at University Hospital Limerick.
The INMO says its members are “sick of apologising for the state of [the] health service” as it publishes its monthly Trolleywatch data.
The figures show 1,498 people waited on trolleys at UHL during the month of February – an average of more than 53 a day.
It’s more than 50 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels back in 2019.
Overcrowding numbers for the Dooradoyle facility are 85 percent higher than the next busiest hospital in the country, which is Cork University Hospital.
That had a total of 807 people in trolleys during February.
UHL’s total is the highest monthly number since the union began recording such data back in 2006.
The number of people on trolleys has been climbing steadily since 2010, but has began rising particularly sharply since 2018.
It’s understood attendances at UHL’s emergency department remain high this week, with management asking patients to consider all care options before presenting to the facility.
