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

'All I saw were older people, mainly over-70s, and all on trolleys; it was heartbreaking'

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.