Hiqa finds UHL patient waiting for 116 hours and diagnoses being given in public corridors

Hiqa inspectors witnessed patients on trolleys being given medical diagnoses or updates on corridors where this was easily overheard

Hiqa states that University Hospital Limerick has a policy of transferring patients to smaller hospitals in the UL Hospital Group as part of the escalation policy, and placing trolleys on wards when the ED becomes particularly overcrowded. File picture: Dan Linehan

A Hiqa inspection of the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick identified one patient waiting 116 hours for treatment and found nurse shortages are significantly affecting the “delivery of safe care”.

The inspectors said patients on trolleys had “little to no privacy or dignity” due to the overcrowding with personal information regularly shared in areas where many others could hear.