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LAST UPDATE | 21 Jan 2023
A NATIONAL DAY of protest took place at 17 hospitals across the country today over the overcrowding crisis in emergency departments.
A march took place in Limerick this morning to highlight the crisis at University Hospital Limerick, the most overcrowded emergency department in the country and the only ED in the mid-west region.
The Health Information and Quality Authority, as well as staff at UHL have highlighted the pressure on the hospital’s ED over the past several months, particularly after a teenage girl died from meninigitis last month after allegedly spent a significant amount of time on a trolley.
An investigation into Aoife Johnston’s death is due to commence shortly, UL Hospitals Group Professor Brian Lenehan has stated.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Limerick, with some protesters carrying photos of loved ones who have suffered from long waits in UHL or have died while waiting for treatment.
This is #Limerick today #UHL #Protest #GiveUsBackOurAandE pic.twitter.com/o2LxbaYBzk
— Friends of Ennis Hospital (@ennis_of) January 21, 2023
According to the INMO, 482 admitted patients were waiting for beds yesterday, with 367 patients waiting in emergency departments and 115 in wards elsewhere in hospitals.
RTÉ’s Mid West correspondent, Cathy Halloran, spoke to protesters in Limerick, with one woman saying:
“People are dying and people can’t take it anymore. I have kidney disease and I’m terrified anytime I have a pain to go to the hospital because that’s where I’m going to be dumped and the last time I was there last May I spent three days on a trolley.”
“I think it’s just abysmal the way it’s gone,the A&Es need to be reopened, my mother was a statistic on a bed for weeks on end. It’s not fair on our older generation who are being let down,” another woman said.
Protests also took place in Navan today, where the HSE outlined controversial plans to implement a 24-hour Medical Assessment Unit to replace the emergency department in Our Lady’s Hospital Navan.
Cathaoirleach of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign Peadar Tóibín stated:
“People are incredibly angry and frustrated that the old and the sick have been treated horrendously. The experience of so many has been massively damaged by the lack of capacity is the ED system.”
“Much of this damage has been caused by the policy of closing EDs, beds and the lack of provision of doctors, nurses and consultants.
“We urge people to take a stand and send a message loud and clear that we will no longer tolerate this health disaster in our lives.”
With reporting by Eimer McAuley
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Sounds idilic but what about employment?
@David Grey: and is there many single women there.. Another important question
@David Grey: nail, head
Married and willing would do too
@Peter King: Yep, Mayo is known for its nail head factories. Plenty of employment there
@David Grey:
You’ll be far to busy making fire and building shelters than worrying about employment. Scavenging wild mushrooms and berries for breakfast, trapping wild grouse and distilling your own urine. Won’t be enough hours in the day as it is.
@David Grey: How about creating your own job?
@Acedeuce: Fleeced with them, if you get my drift.
When Sam goes .. I’ll go!
What are the broadband speeds like?
@Peter King: and is there shopping delivery
There hasn’t been a band around in years , since they closed the hall
@Peter King: somewhere between “slow” and ” what’s broadband??”…..basically like all of rural Ireland
achill island. now that is a place i;d like to live
@Just Some Guy: You haven’t been then? Went there for long weekend in our camper van left after one day!
Skangers need not apply. If only
Moved from London to remote Mayo, I’m able to work from anywhere and it made sense when we had a kid, 20 years living in NW London to the remote west of Ireland was a daunting thought, but it was amazing, also commuted regularly back to the city via Knock, it was a breeze and much quicker than getting to Dublin, a fantastic place to live, no longer there as I need to engage with Dublin and we’re still figuring out some vital assistances for ‘rural’ Ireland, transport, broadband, etc. It’s maddening how small the island is and how we’ve not yet mastered our way around it, don’t suppose it would be very rural/remote if we did.
Take 3 generations to be fully accepted by the community
Till you look at the world it all a con , control and greed by a few. Ireland is tiny with a small population , it could be great country throughout for all. Even if we took a small percentage of the people that seek work in the UK our economy could grow.
Be there in a minute, hang on
Land of The Yews…….
Moving home is not a simple solution or an easy thing to do . You have to leave behind your families and friends . In short you have to leave behind your support system !
@Frank Dubogovik: FYI,broadband speeds here in Westport faster than most areas in Dublin
Pardon my language but $uck Los Vegas ours is real
Agreed. Though Westport may be the exception rather than the rule, its broadband speed is well ahead of the norm.
Not to mention the fantastic social life!
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