UHL overcrowding in May almost 60% higher than January as Gloster meets campaigners

INMO Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said: "This type of overcrowding at the beginning of summer must be immediately addressed to prevent an even more chaotic winter.

Representatives for the Mid-West Hospital Campaign will meet the new CEO of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, in his office at Raheen, Limerick, on Friday. File photo: Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland

THE level of overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) was 57% higher in May than last January, shocking new figures have revealed.

Last week's trolley watch figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) revealed on Wednesday that UHL was the most overcrowded hospital in the country in May with 1,857 patients on trolleys, more than double the number in Tallaght University Hospital, with 704 patients. This is a substantial 57% hike on the 1,180 patients who were on trolleys last January at UHL.