'A complete failure by the Government': Man, 87, spent 100 hours on a trolley in UHL

Elderly man's grandson said he was shocked a patient just shy of 90 years of age would be on a trolley in a corridor of the emergency department five days into his hospital stay

Conor Sheehan, grandson of Jeremiah Mullins, said there were not enough healthcare assistants available to monitor Mr Mullins while his family were not with him. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

An 87-year-old man spent 100 hours waiting for a hospital bed at University Hospital Limerick as overcrowding spirals around the country.

Senior HSE and hospital officials in Cork and Limerick apologised on Tuesday for unacceptable delays.

The elderly man’s case is not unique as HSE data shows 18 people aged over 75 waiting longer than 24 hours for a bed nationally.

Jeremiah “Derry” Mullins has now been transferred to Croom Hospital, but his grandson, Conor Sheehan, said this treatment was "a complete failure by the Government".

“I’m so bewildered and frustrated by the whole situation and over the last few days while I’ve been out in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) I’ve been hearing the same story from everybody out there,” he said.

He said he was shocked a patient, just shy of 90, would be on a trolley in a corridor of the emergency department (ED) five days into his hospital stay.

"There were supposed to be more timely pathways for elderly patients out of ED," he said.

There were not enough healthcare assistants to monitor Mr Mullins while his family were not with him, he added.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation counted 640 people on trolleys including 109 in Limerick and 94 at Cork University Hospital – a record for this site.

This follows record figures at UHL on Monday when 132 people waited on trolleys.

'Dangerous situations'

General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha warned these numbers are leading to “very dangerous situations” for patients and nurses in emergency departments.

“We are calling for the immediate cessation of all non-urgent elective procedures,” she urged.

“We know anecdotally from our members that some hospitals are still allowing procedures to be carried out despite huge numbers of patients on trolleys in hospitals. This is not acceptable.” Sandra Broderick, HSE mid-west health region chief executive, moved to reassure people in Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary.

Elective operations are being cancelled and beds are being taken from other areas of the hospital to free up resources to tackle overcrowded emergency departments.

“I want to assure the public that the health and social care teams across the region are working at full capacity to meet this extreme demand and I thank the staff sincerely for their efforts,” she said.

UHL is experiencing “high demand for emergency care”, she said and advised of significant delays except for life-threatening or severe illness or injury.

Some 261 patients attended the ED on Monday, which was “significantly above average” and followed “an unusually busy weekend”.

Similarly, CUH spoke of “unprecedented” patient numbers.

ED numbers are up 35% on last January and admissions are up 37%.

Cork University Hospital chief executive David Donegan said: “I apologise to all patients and their loved ones for any delays they experience while attending CUH."

He urged people to try other sources of help and thanked people for "their continued cooperation and support of our dedicated and hardworking staff.” HSE chief operations officer Damien McCallion also urged people who are not “seriously injured or ill, or worried their life may be at risk” to consider other sources of help. He appealed to people to heed weather warnings.