Record levels of overcrowding were reported at the region’s main hospital in April.
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.
1,954 admitted patients were left waiting on trolleys or chairs at UHL, according to INMO figures published today.
This represents a 7% increase on April of last year.
It’s the second-highest number recorded at the Dooradoyle facility during the month of April and is just 17 fewer than the peak in the same month 2023.
The figures come despite the opening of a new 96-bed block in October last year.
At Ennis Hospital, trolley numbers were unchanged at 97, while at Galway Univeristy Hospital, the number waiting for beds almost doubled, from 511 in April 2025 to 1,003 last month.
The INMO has described last month as the worst April on record for overcrowding, with 11,175 patients waiting for hospital beds across the country.
The INMO says it’s time to invest seriously in staffing and capacity in both acute and community facilities, warning the current situation is endangering patients and placing huge pressure on nurses.
