Major protests over hospital overcrowding

University Hospital Limerick’s chronic overcrowding and University Hospital Waterford’s lack of cardiac care services will be the focus of major protests this weekend.

On Saturday, a march organised by Donal O’Brien, a voluntary worker at UHL’s emergency department, will proceed from the hospital gates at midday. The hospital’s emergency department had the highest trolley numbers in the country during last week’s pile-up and yesterday it remained one of the worst affected.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s trolley watch showed there were 33 admitted patients in UHL and 28 in UHW awaiting a bed yesterday.