Why is Beaumont getting a new emergency department and not UHL? asks campaigner

HSE figures showed a total of 94 people waiting in UHL on Tuesday, with 61 patients on trolleys and 33 on temporary surge beds. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

It is “hurtful” to see a new emergency department funded for a Dublin hospital while patients in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary continue to face overcrowding, an advocate said.

On Tuesday, there were 93 patients without a bed at University Hospital Limerick out of 443 patients waiting around the country, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said.

HSE figures showed a total of 94 people waiting in UHL on Tuesday, with 61 patients on trolleys and 33 on temporary surge beds.

Marie McMahon’s husband Tommy died seven years ago this month after spending 36 hours on a trolley in the hospital.

Now a member of the Midwest Hospital Campaign, she said: “We hear regularly from people who talk about the problems at the ED there, the trolleys are still happening there.” 

A Hiqa review is examining whether a second ED is needed to support UHL. It separately emerged planning permission is expected this year for a new ED at Beaumont hospital.

“It’s really hurtful,” she said.

“Our region has representatives in the Dáil, in the Seanad, on the health committee — why did nobody question that? Why are we waiting for Hiqa to do a report on Limerick before we can get an emergency department?” 

She added: “People have been marching on the streets here, collecting signatures for petitions but somebody somewhere thought that Beaumont was more urgent. 

“Are we less important than patients on the other side of the country? It’s not about urban vs rural or anything like that, it’s about the group of politicians who’ve approved this.” 

A UHL spokesman said daily patient numbers at the ED rose “by 7% in the year to April 20”.

This included 4,509 people aged over 75, and he said this was 19% higher than this time last year. This compared to “a 2% average increase nationally for this age group”.

This means 249 patients come to the ED every day on average, he explained. Over 300 people came on two days this month.

In addition, about 1,200 patients are seen weekly by injury units or referred by GPs to medical assessment units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s hospitals.

Extra consultants are already rostered on for weekends and bank holidays.

“We are sincerely grateful to the efforts of all our healthcare teams who have worked so hard to meet the challenges,” the spokesman said.

A new 16-bed unit opens in June and a block of 96 beds in September.