More trolleys have been placed on wards and corridors in University Hospital Limerick in recent days as overcrowding continues, the INMO has warned.
UHL has 52 patients on trolleys this morning – despite gaining more than 110 new beds since January 2021. Hospital management have cancelled all elective and outpatient services for the week.
The INMO is calling for direct ministerial intervention in the hospital, as overcrowding continues despite the extra resources.
The union has called on the Minister to “look under the bonnet” and see why additional beds have not made a substantial impact.
INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations Mary Fogarty said:
UHL has had a major investment of new beds over the last six months, but frontline nurses report that overcrowding is getting even worse. Management have canceled electives for a few days, but our members say the hospital is out of control.
They want real solutions to the overcrowding problems at the hospital, as it is evident that additional bed capacity is no silver bullet.
The Minister needs to look under the bonnet of UHL and see what has happened. We need a fast-tracked review into why these new beds haven’t had a positive impact. Limerick’s patients deserve better.
Our members are still fighting COVID and are frankly exhausted. Even before the pandemic, UHL was a seriously overstretched hospital. Something has to give. Limerick nurses’ morale is at an all-time low.
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