Urgent plan needed to tackle trolley crisis in University Hospital Limerick
Commenting on the INMO TrolleyWatch figures which show 85 patients on trolleys, the highest trolley figure for an Irish hospital on record, Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called for a bespoke plan for University Hospital Limerick.
Deputy Kelly said:
“The figures released by the INMO today show 631 people on trolleys across the country, with 85 people on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick. This is not good enough for patients, staff and their families.
“I raised in the Dáil last week that we need a specific plan for University Hospital Limerick. The circumstances people are being left in are disgraceful.
“This is causing so much stress for staff who are trying to work around so many frontline gaps in the staffing in UHL because of the HSE recruitment ban.
“We know that that there are over 100 unfilled nursing posts in University Hospital Limerick alone, the hospital with the highest trolley count today. Staff in UHL are over stretched, stressed beyond words because of the recruitment ban the government continues to deny exists.
“What approach is Fine Gael going to take to solve the crisis in UHL? Minister Harris cannot plead ignorance on this one, as he does with so many other issues. The grave concerns of patients and staff of UHL are constantly being brought to the Minister’s attention and he seems to be doing very little to solve the problems in Limerick.
“We have now had 8 years of Fine Gael at the helm in health and it has done nothing to cure the symptoms of the trolley crisis in UHL – we have seen monthly trolley numbers treble in size in Limerick since during that time.
“Minister Harris needs to get his act together and produce a bespoke plan for University Hospital Limerick, because we know the additional health issues that are coming down the track that will make the situation worse in Limerick. Minister Harris needs to act swiftly and decisively and take action to solve this crisis in UHL, if he does not it is the people of Limerick who will continue to suffer.”