'Farcical and dangerous': Elderly man waits 30 hours for bed in Limerick hospital

University Hospital Limerick has been extremely busy with 216 people attending on average every day, and exceeding 240 on three days this month, compared to 195 patients pre-pandemic. Picture: Dan Linehan

An elderly man was forced to wait 30 hours for a hospital bed at the weekend, as patients across Munster face growing problems accessing hospital care.

At University Hospital Limerick (UHL), the pressure on beds was such that one 71-year-old man waited on a trolley for 30 hours over Sunday and Monday before a hospital bed became available.

His son, Brian Downes, said the situation was “farcical and dangerous”.

Mr Downes said trolleys lined both sides of a corridor in the area his father was placed, with only inches between them.

“It was just crazy. All I saw were older people, mainly over-70s, and all on trolleys. It was heartbreaking,” he said on Tuesday. “The staff were very kind and doing the best they could with what they had.” 

Mr Downes, who lives in Mallow, Co Cork, said patients are being impacted by the closure of emergency departments in smaller hospitals, thus funnelling everyone into UHL.

“This is an issue the Government needs to sort out,” he said. “It’s not just in Limerick, there are issues in Cork too, it’s nonsensical.” 

Call for funding increase

He called on the Government to increase funding for the region.

“It’s very unfair. I can completely understand why nurses and doctors don’t want to work in the Irish system.

“This is about politicians and bureaucrats and an inability to organise people or equip professionals, who are doing a really tough job, properly,” said Mr Downes, a management consultant.

Brian Downes, whose father spent 30 hours on a trolley in University Hospital Limerick, said the situation was 'nonsensical'. 

A spokesman for the UL Hospital Group said: “We apologise to Mr Downes and to all patients who face long wait times for a bed. This is not the care we wish to provide for our patients and we would like to assure patients and their loved ones that management and staff are making every effort to minimise wait times for admitted patients.” 

The hospital has been extremely busy with 216 people attending on average every day, and exceeding 240 on three days this month, compared to 195 patients pre-pandemic.

Delays in Cork hospitals

In Cork, patients also experienced delays this week. Patients arriving at Cork University Hospital (CUH) emergency department (ED) on Monday said they were told of a wait of up to 13 hours to see a doctor, while at Mercy University Hospital, the wait was estimated at eight hours.

Admitted patients also faced waits, with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation on Tuesday morning counting 20 people on trolleys in the Mercy and 31 in CUH.

A spokeswoman for both hospitals said they “have been exceptionally busy over the past number of weeks", linked to an increase in "acutely ill patients in addition to caring for frail older persons with complex needs”. 

“it is regrettable that some patients may experience a delay in the ED and this situation is being treated as a priority,”  she said.

Meanwhile, HSE staff in areas facing a Storm Barra red alert were asked to arrive at work before 6am and remain on site until the travel alert lifted at 9pm on Tuesday. An email from trade union Forsa reminded staff they can get emergency leave pay for one day only.