Government 'delusional' about University Hospital Limerick overcrowding, Dáil told

Labour leader Ivana Bacik told the Dáil: 'In a hospital, where patients expect to receive care, what they are receiving is chaos.'

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said the Government has failed to "step in" to resolve the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick.

The Government has been accused of being "delusional" when it comes to the overcrowding crisis in Limerick Hospital.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said the Government has failed to "step in" despite the fact that "the writing has been on the wall for months as regards the escalating crisis at University Hospital Limerick."

Ms McDonald claimed the Taoiseach had "downplayed" the situation at the hospital earlier this week, stating: "You would be forgiven for thinking that the dire problems at the hospital were a figment of people's imaginations."

She added: "The root cause of the crisis is clear. The Government has not made the necessary investment into University Hospital Limerick. This has created serious and persistent capacity and staffing problems."

Minister Simon Coveney strongly refuted Ms McDonald's claims by stating that there are now 1,000 more staff in the hospital compared to December 2019.

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"It includes an extra 146 doctors, 45 more consultants, 348 more nurses and midwives, as well as 84 more health and social care professionals," he said.

"We are also investing in bed capacity at UHL, which is badly needed. Some 150 additional beds have been opened in the University Limerick Hospitals Group, ULHG, since 2020 and 98 of those beds are in UHL. We are seeing another 96 beds being progressed, which will open early next year. Towards the end of next year, a further 96 beds will be added to UHL."

However, Labour leader Ivana Bacik told the Dáil that the issue is not confined to Limerick as "every day now, sick people who go to hospital in Ireland seeking treatment are arriving to find that it is just not there for them, largely due to overcrowding".

She said: "In a hospital, where patients expect to receive care, what they are receiving is chaos."