Call to attend Limerick hospital protest

A large-scale protest is to take place on February 1st in response to the sustained Emergency Department crisis at UHL.

The protest is organised by the Mid-West Hospital Campaign and supported by the Stand up for Mental Health group. It will be the largest public action the region has seen since the water protests. Groups from Clare, Limerick and Tipperary will converge on the city, demanding an immediate end to the intolerable conditions affecting both patients and staff at the hospital.

Damian O'Donoghue, spokesperson for the group in Tipperary, said: “We have had enough. Ninety-two patients on trolleys at UHL last week broke all national records again. UHL is consistently the most overcrowded hospital in the country.

“People of all ages, particularly the elderly, are in need of care but are terrified to attend the hospital. Patients languish on trolleys, sometimes for days, not getting the care they deserve. Healthcare teams in every category in the hospital are severely diminished due to under-resourcing and are, as a consequence, faced with inhumane levels of pressure from the beginning to the end of their shift. This is not acceptable and it must not continue.

“We want this situation to be declared a National Emergency,” Mr O'Donoghue said. “We want the Government to establish a special taskforce to end the overcrowding and address specifically the health needs of the Mid-West. We want Nenagh, Ennis and St John's Emergency Departments reopened without further delay. We want the recruitment embargo lifted immediately and the necessary investment provided to improve services at our public hospitals so that there will be timely care and dignity for all patients.

“The 'Enough is Enough March for Proper Healthcare' will take place on Saturday, February 1st, assembling at St John's Hospital, Limerick at 1pm, and marching to Bedford Row in the city centre. We are asking for a massive turnout to end the healthcare emergency in Tipperary, Limerick and Clare.”