The A&E at University Hospital Limerick has been described as a ‘cattle mart’ where elderly female patients on trolleys are being robbed of their dignity.

The HSE has come under fire over the alleged expenditure of €2,500 on a new Christmas tree outside its main flagship acute hospital in Dooradoyle, Limerick.

Increased spending on agency staff and the provision of 41 extra acute beds in Limerick hospitals have been cited as some of the main factors contributing to a €18.5m overspend in a Mid-West group of hospitals.

Up to 500 staff at five hospitals in the University of Limerick Hospital Group have begun industrial action over the continued employment of the group’s chief operations manager on €250,000 per year — more than twice the €116,000 that would be paid to a public servant.

Representatives of some of the world’s biggest corporations and institutions are among Ireland’s most powerful women, according to an awards ceremony organised by the Women’s Executive Network.

Appalling conditions at the emergency department of a major hospital are threatening patient safety, increasing risk of infection and compromising cleanliness, a damning watchdog report has found.

A new report has highlighted a number of patient safety risks in the Limerick Hospitals group which it states must be addressed as a priority.

Ambulance crews are queuing up at the emergency department of a major hospital and waiting up to two hours before they can unload patients and are released to return to duty.

A leading clinical director believes a second emergency department would be beneficial for the Mid-West region in the wake of claims that University Hospital Limerick is in “chaos”.