THE IRISH NURSES and Midwives Organisation has warned of a “real problem with overcrowding all along the western seaboard” after record-breaking overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick.

Figures from the INMO reveal over 8,717 patients have been without a bed in April.

The INMO’s General Secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha, calls the figures “extremely concerning”.

On 21 April, over 126 patients were without a bed in University Hospital Limerick.

Ni Sheaghdha said this was “the worst day for overcrowding in any Irish hospital since the INMO began our TrolleyWatch”.

“If we are breaking records in April, what hope do we have in the winter months,” she added.

However, Ni Sheaghdha warned that this is “not just confined to University Hospital Limerick”, noting that it has also been the worst April on record for overcrowding in Mayo University Hospital and Sligo University Hospital.

The INMO General Secretary added that it’s “been an extremely difficult time for nurses and midwives” who are “incredibly exhausted and burnt out by the conditions in our hospitals”.

She called on the HSE to “uphold its obligation as an employer to provide a safe workplace”.

And while Ni Sheaghdha welcomed Minister Donnelly’s request that a review be carried out in the Limerick hospital, she says it “must be carried out by independent experts, not internally by the HSE”.