It’s claimed the people of the MidWest have become infuriated over consistent inaction on the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick.
It comes as the UL Hospitals Group is advising the public to consider all alternative care options after the record for attendances at the Emergency Department in a single day was broken this week.
Over the course of Monday, 325 patients presented for care at the only Emergency Department serving the population of Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary.
According to reports from those in attendance, the ED’s walk in area and overflow wards were filled to capacity, while private ambulances were also called to transport patients to other hospitals and nursing home settings.
Twenty-One year-old Eve Cleary from Corbally spent 17 hours on a trolley at UHL in 2019, before she was discharged and passed away from a blood clot which went undiagnosed.
Her mother Melanie Sheehan Clearly is running as an Independent candidate in the general election and says pleas for reopening Accident and Emergency Departments in the MidWest have become akin to banging heads against a wall.
Earlier this year, the Department of Health had pledged to extend opening hours at the Ennis Medical Assessment Unit to sixteen hours by Q3 of this year as a means of alleviating overcrowding, however this target has been missed.
HIQA’s ongoing review to determine if another ED is needed in the region, meanwhile, isn’t expected to be published until next Summer.
MidWest Hospital Campaign Spokesperson and Ennis based Social Democrats Candidate Hilary Tonge believes a Model 4 hospital could be necessary in Clare by the time the report is ready and says a 24/7 MAU is needed urgently.
You can listen to the full interview here:
A Clare Government Senator has described the current situation at University Hospital Limerick as indefensible.
So far this week, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has recorded 316 patients on trolleys at UHL, and on Monday night many were forced to wait on chairs or any other available space.
Ennistymon Fine Gael Senator and Oireachtas Health Committee member, Martin Conway is hopeful Health Minister Stephen Donnelly can provide answers when he appears before a special meeting of the Seanad tomorrow.
