81 patients were waiting for a hospital bed in University Hospital Limerick this morning, according to the INMO.
This is the second highest figure seen at UHL this year, following the record-breaking 92 people on trolleys on the 6th of January.
The INMO said that today’s figure brings the number of patients on trolleys in UHL so far this year up to 2,243, making it 27% higher than the same period in 2019 (1,761). The total number of patients on trolleys across the country today is 573.
INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations Mary Fogarty said
This is the fourth time this month we have seen more than 70 people lining the corridors of UHL while they wait for a hospital bed. This is simply down to lack of capacity in our local health service.
We need more hospital beds, more community care and for all obstacles to recruiting staff to be removed immediately. The current situation is unsafe, unsustainable and completely avoidable. As long as the recruitment freeze continues patients will suffer.