UHL has been under intense pressure for a number of years, with staff struggling to cope with a severe shortage of hospital beds. There were 108 people waiting for a bed in wards and in the emergency department at UHL yesterday \u2013 significantly higher than the number in the second most overcrowded hospital, Cork University Hospital, where 80 patients were waiting for a bed. <\/p>\n
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Pic: File<\/p>\n
Sources within the health service say they are braced for further staff departures from UHL. One source told Extra.ie<\/a>: \u2018The new private Bon Secours hospital opened only in September, and a lot of medics have gone there. They\u2019re gone from the public system. They\u2019ve decided to leave the public system, and they will only now be working privately.\u2019 <\/p>\n Another person familiar with the issue claimed some senior medics are being asked to cover large geographical areas in community clinics, as well as outpatient and acute medicine wards, and have left their posts as a direct result of the difficult working conditions. <\/p>\n One source said: \u2018Conditions need to be changed\u2026 staff are facing significant pressure and stress on a daily basis. Everyone knows what the issues are: capacity, waiting lists and the difficulty in keeping staff. They are coming in the door one day and walking out the next.\u2019 <\/p>\n Latest figures show there are more than 31,000 patients on waiting lists at the hospital. Commenting on the conditions at the hospital, Sinn F\u00e9in health spokesman David Cullinane<\/a> said there is \u2018real fatigue and burnout\u2019 among staff, who are \u2018dealing with a very challenging situation on a daily basis\u2019. <\/p>\n The Waterford TD said: \u2018If you\u2019re going into that every day and trying to deal with patients on trolleys with no dignity, infection control issues, it\u2019s a nightmare. Staff are having to deal with what must be horrific conditions. It\u2019s almost everything that can possibly go wrong and going against every good practice of healthcare.\u2019<\/p>\n Mr Cullinane said responsibility for the continued failings and capacity shortages at the hospital lies with \u2018the HSE and the Government\u2019. Labour Party TD for Tipperary North, Alan Kelly, told Extra.ie<\/a> that more investment in healthcare in the Midwest region was needed. <\/p>\n \u2018I want to see as many medics as possible choose UHL to work in and, while this is concerning, I firmly believe that if this Government and Minister [Jennifer] Carroll MacNeill really want to show their concern for the Mid-west then she will announce investment in a new Model 4 hospital in the region before Christmas,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n \u2018It will take years and money but it will show that she is going to end the discrimination that exists against our region for over 20 years when it comes to healthcare.\u2019 <\/p>\n The issue of overcrowding is a longstanding one at the hospital and has had knock-on effects on both scheduled and emergency care. An inquest last year into the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston at the overcrowded emergency department in 2022 described conditions as being \u2018like a death trap\u2019. <\/p>\n![\"Alan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4-FILE-PHOTO-ALAN-KELLY_90736056-e1760358822165.jpg\")
Alan Kelly. Pic: Sam Boal \/ RollingNews.ie<\/p>\n![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/limerick-university-hospital.jpg\")
Pic: Google<\/p>\n