TD criticises ‘unfair’ conditions at UHL as overcrowding remains a concern

1,666 people were waiting for a hospital bed at University Hospital Limerick last month.

UHL was the most overcrowded hospital in the country in June, with nearly 10,000 patients left on trolleys across the country.

Today, 110 patients are waiting for a bed at Dooradoyle Hospital

Sinn Féin MP Maurice Quinlivan says the number is unmanageable.

“Sometimes we forget that when we talk about numbers, those numbers mean that people have come to the hospital, been assessed and found to need a bed, but there are no beds available. Today we have 110 people on trolleys. That’s not fair to the sick people, their families and the workers who are working in these conditions,” said MP Quinlivan.

Meanwhile, overcrowding problems in hospitals across the country have led to the cancellation of more than 50,000 operations and procedures in three months.

From January to March this year, Ireland East Hospital Group recorded more than 17,000 cancellations, while South/South West Hospital Group recorded more than 10,000.

The UL Hospital Group has the lowest number at 797.