Dean Fitzgerald was still on a trolley in University Hospital Limerick yesterday – seven hours after arriving by ambulance with severe stomach pain.
He revealed: “I came in about 7am and I’m still sitting on a trolley and nothing done.
“I came in by ambulance this morning. I literally woke up in agony, in excruciating pain in my left abdomen. Hopefully it’s not serious. I don’t want to be going in for operations.”
Dean, from Shannon, Co Clare, said he felt lucky as he had been placed in an Emergency Department isolation pod due to infection control procedures.
A few feet away groups of elderly patients continued to bear the “busy as hell” conditions.
Limerick University Hospital overcrowding like a 'scene after a major natural disaster'
Along the cramped corridors nurses and doctors fought for standing room to treat the never-ending stream of sick and injured.
The order from the floor was “only one” relative per patient.
Dean added: “It’s not the staff’s fault, it’s as busy as hell in there. They’re doing all they can.”
His mother Marianne said: “There’s so many, it’s so cluttered. They’re under pressure big time.
“I think it’s disastrous the way people are on top of each other, you’ve elderly people in there and they have no dignity.
“Some of them were crying out with their hands out – a cry for help I suppose. It’s sad to see it, God love them.”
The hospital advised the public to attend local injury units instead of presenting at ED for non-serious and non-life threatening conditions.
A UHL spokesperson said it “sincerely regrets” any delays for patients, adding: “UHL has just over 450 inpatient beds. This is recognised as not sufficient for the needs of the MidWest region.”
