Nurses working in the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick are said to be “completely distressed” this evening as the overcrowding crisis continues.
Hospitals across the country have struggled to deal with an influx of patients in recent weeks, with staff saying that the number of people being treated on trolleys has reached dangerous levels.
According to the Irish Times, figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show that 41 people were waiting on a bed at UHL today and unions are to meet with management to discuss measures to ease the crisis.
UHL is the only acute hospital in the mid west region and INMO spokesperson Mary Fogarty said nurses were “completely distressed” at the current situation.
“Nurses are distressed by the fact that they cannot give proper care. They can’t come in and do proper days work and go home and say I did my job today. It’s firefighting that’s what they’ll tell you.”
“We have repeatedly notified [the HSE] of our concerns and they would accept the concerns we are raising but they seem to be unable to address the issues. Today’s meeting is to again see what they can put in place to address the issues rather than stuffing more beds into other parts of the region without resources that is making it more unsafe.”
