Will October trolley figures shock Harris into taking action on University Hospital Limerick?
Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called for the Minister for Health to produce a plan to alleviate the trolley crisis in University Hospital Limerick.
This comes as 904 people were on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick in the first half of October.
Deputy Kelly said:
“According to INMO figures, 904 people have been on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick since the beginning of this month. This amounts to over 13% of the total amount of people who have been on trolleys nationwide so far in October.
“Time and time again, I have called for Simon Harris to produce a bespoke plan for University Hospital Limerick. Two weeks ago Minister Harris told me publically he was meeting officials at the Hospital to discuss the crisis, we have heard nothing from him since then and trolley numbers remain the same.
“We have had eight years of Fine Gael at the helm in the Department of Health, and the situation in UHL is getting worse with poor political management of the crisis in this hospital.
“Today trolley numbers are at 72 in UHL, what will numbers be like when the Australian flu we have been tipped off about lands on our shores? Is there any plan from the Minister and the Chief Executive of the HSE to deal with the known unknowns that are coming down the track for University Hospital Limerick.
“Staff, patients and their families are crying out for solutions. We know through trolley-watch figures, that University Hospital Limerick is the most consistently overcrowded hospital in the country. What number does the trolley count have to reach to shock Fine Gael and the HSE into taking action?
“The Minister needs to publish a winter plan that outlines specifically how he plans to remedy the situation in UHL, so the people of Limerick, Tipperary and Clare receive safe care.”