Overcrowding was a serious issue at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) more than 45 years ago, newly released documents show.
Files released by the Department of Health as part of the State Papers show that the hospital has been dealing with the effects of staff shortages and long wait times for almost half a century.
UHL regularly tops the list of hospitals with the worst overcrowding in the State and has been the focus of a number of recent reviews following the deaths of patients.
As long ago as June 6th, 1980, a special report was prepared for the then Mid Western Health Board in relation to the overcrowding situation at Limerick Regional Hospital, which is now known as UHL.
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The report stated that extra bed capacity was needed but warned this “would take time to implement and would require very full and careful examination of the alternatives”.
A special meeting of staff at the hospital was held in July 1979 to discuss overcrowding.
The Department of Health granted funding to hire 23 extra nurses, but budgetary constraints prevented the hiring of extra consultants or the opening of new wards at the time.
One suggestion to help ease overcrowding was that some short-term patients could be accommodated in nearby hostels, records show.
“It has been established in a number of surveys carried out that there are patients being admitted to the hospital for investigation and short-term treatment which could be catered for in other accommodation such as a hostel or, possibly, an investigation unit which would operate on a five day a week basis.”
The report cited the inability to discharge elderly patients as one of the reasons behind the overcrowding.
“A contributory factor to overcrowding in the acute hospital is the difficulty at times in securing accommodation for geriatric patients who, because of the nature of their illness or home conditions (no relatives etc) cannot be discharged to their own home but are suitable for long stay beds in the geriatric hospitals,” it stated.
“Acute beds are, therefore, occupied by such patients for periods longer than is necessary for their treatment because of the heavy demand for long stay accommodation.”
The report stated that “additional bed accommodation” was needed, but acknowledged that this presented “serious capital and revenue cost implications”.
Other solutions considered at the time included improved outpatient facilities and the appointment of a doctor to specifically treat older patients.
A later file, dated May 28th 1982, noted that a doctor had been acting in a temporary capacity in a geriatric role since October 1981. This doctor recommended a minimum of 20 extra beds at UHL, the file noted.
However, the report stated there was “no possibility of providing such accommodation” at the time and other options were being explored.
Overcrowding remains a major issue at UHL, which has been the focus of a number of high-profile inquests following the deaths of patients. In September this year, an independent review found that the death of Aoife Johnson in 2022 occurred in circumstances that were “almost certainly avoidable”.
The 16-year-old Leaving Cert student from Shannon, Co Clare, died on December 19th, 2022 from meningitis, two days after presenting at the UHL emergency department with symptoms of suspected sepsis. It later emerged she was left for more than 13 hours without antibiotics.
This month Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced her intention to build a new hospital to help address the deficiencies in the health service in the HSE Mid West region. She said acute bed capacity at UHL would also be expanded and a site nearby developed to increase capacity.
