Hospital campaigners mobilise for national protests

Campaigner Mike Daly: 'I hope this will be one of the biggest protests in Limerick. Everyone is very angry about this.' Picture: Brendan Gleeson

Campaigners from the Mid-West have met other hospital campaigners from around the country to plan a national day of marches as the overcrowding crisis continues.

Limerick City was already earmarked for a march by local campaigner Mike Daly, set for January 21, to draw attention to long waiting times at the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick.

This could now be joined by protests north and south of the border.

Mr Daly said he welcomed the growing interest in protests. 

“I hope this will be one of the biggest protests in Limerick,” he said. “Everyone is very angry about this. We have buses coming in from all over.”

UHL is the only emergency department covering Limerick, North Tipperary and Clare and has faced unusually high patient numbers for months due to the impact of Covid-19, flu and RSV.

“There are people coming from North Cork and from as far as Lahinch [(in Clare] to be seen in UHL, that is incredible,” he said.

Spokeswoman for the MidWest Hospital Campaign Noeleen Moran: 'Up and down the country, really everybody is in the same boat when it comes to health and much more needs to be done to scrutinise what the HSE are doing.' Picture: Brendan Gleeson

Spokeswoman for the MidWest Hospital Campaign Noeleen Moran said: "Up and down the country, really everybody is in the same boat when it comes to health and much more needs to be done to scrutinise what the HSE are doing." 

A bus is being funded to bring Clare protesters to the Limerick march, by the Women's Collective Ireland Clare, the Clare PPN and the Clare Travellers Community Development Project, she explained. 

She welcomed the move allowing paramedics bring some patients to Ennis Hospital instead of automatically to UHL.

The online meeting was chaired by Aontú TD Peader Tóibín, who also heads the Save Navan Hospital Campaign.

He said it was attended by people in Drogheda, Monaghan, Cavan, and Letterkenny as well as Daisy Hill, Newry, Causeway Coast and Coleraine in Northern Ireland.

“Hospital campaigns in Enniskillen, Sligo, Cork, Kerry, Bantry and Wexford are also considering getting involved,” he said.

“We believe that we may be reaching a turning point. The HSE has spent the last 15 years closing eight A&Es and thousands of hospital beds. Primary care and step-down facilities have been allowed to corrode to the point of dysfunction.” 

He urged: “We are urging citizens to come out in numbers on the 21st of January".