‘Lives at risk’ due to continued overcrowding at Limerick hospital, warns Tipperary councillor
Lives in Tipperary and elsewhere across the Mid West are at risk, a Tipperary councillor has said, following a report on overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).
The new report has raised serious concerns about hospital overcrowding in the Mid West, warning that hundreds of additional beds will be needed in the coming years.
The Limerick hospital serves patients from parts of west and north Tipperary, as well as Limerick and Clare, and has been the scene of frequent overcrowding over the last number of years.
A recent HIQA report into hospitals in the Mid West region highlights that UHL has the lowest ratio of beds to emergency presentations in the country, with ESRI projections showing the region will need up to 593 extra beds by 2040. While 128 new beds are planned by 2025, HIQA warns this will still leave a major shortfall.
Three options are on the table for UHL as a result of the report – expanding the hospital’s Dooradoyle site, adding a second nearby campus, or building a new Model Three hospital for the Mid West.
HIQA believes the first two are the quickest and most effective options.
Following the report on Mid West hospitals by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), Tipperary councillor John O’Heney has said that it confirms the “serious and dangerous” shortage of beds, and called for urgent action to be taken.
"This report proves what staff and patients have been saying for years. The Mid West is under-resourced, and lives are at risk.
"The Government must now choose a solution and deliver it without delay,” Cllr O’Heney said.
Local people “deserve decisive action — not more delays and promises,” the independent councillor added.
UHL had 105 patients on trolleys on Wednesday, October 1, the highest number in the country by far.