05/08/2026
๐๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐จ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐.
๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ HSE Mid West ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐น๐. ๐
Will you please post this to the page where you have the post please but will you post it without my name ๐๐ป
My Experience at University Hospital Limerick Emergency Department โ 28โ29 July 2026
On 28 July 2026, I attended my GP in Nenagh due to ongoing upper left-sided chest pain that had not resolved. As a 58-year-old woman, my GP was concerned that cardiac symptoms in women do not always present in the same way as they do in men. As a precaution, he referred me to the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) for further assessment, including blood tests and a chest X-ray.
Attending the Emergency Department was the last thing I wanted to do. I was aware of the lengthy waiting times and asked whether I could instead be referred to an assessment unit. I was advised that this was not possible and that I would have to attend A&E first, where it would then be decided whether I required referral to another department.
I arrived at at approximately 6.30 p.m. The main waiting area was completely full, with every seat occupied. After waiting for approximately one hour, I was called for triage. During triage, my observations were taken, an ECG was performed, and I was sent for a chest X-ray. From there, I was directed to Zone A to await my review by a doctor.
Zone A was also overcrowded. Every seat was occupied, with patients standing, sitting on the floor, and remaining in wheelchairs due to the lack of seating. During the night, I witnessed two unwell patients lie on the floor in an attempt to rest or sleep. On both occasions, they were woken by staff and informed that they could not sleep on the floor because โit didnโt look right.โ Hearing those words was deeply upsetting, particularly given the obvious lack of space and the exhaustion many patients were experiencing.
Shortly after arriving in Zone A, my blood samples were taken. I asked the nurse how long the results would take, and she advised approximately 90 minutes. She also reassured me that I would be seen by a doctor soon.
Throughout the night, my blood pressure was checked on four separate occasions. While the readings were not ideal, nobody explained whether they were considered normal, high, or low, nor was I given any update on my condition.
As the hours passed, I remained waiting without being called. On two occasions during the night, I asked nursing staff how much longer I was likely to wait. One nurse showed me the waiting list, where I was still a considerable way down. I accepted that I would likely remain there until the early hours of the morning.
At approximately 4.45 a.m., I asked again and was told there were only three patients ahead of me. I explained that I needed to be home by 7.00 a.m. due to important responsibilities at home and asked whether I would be finished by then. I was assured that I would either be discharged or, at the very least, seen by a doctor before 7.00 a.m.
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
By 7.00 a.m., I was still waiting, having been awake throughout the entire night. The seating made it virtually impossible to rest, as the chairs were uncomfortable and offered no opportunity to sleep. By this stage, exhaustion, anxiety, and the ongoing chest pain were all taking their toll.
At approximately 7.30 a.m., I approached another nurse. She explained that she could not provide any estimate of how much longer I would be waiting. I told her that, despite previously being informed there were only three patients ahead of me, I had since seen at least thirteen other patients called before me. She apologised and explained that she understood my frustration.
I told her I appreciated that more urgent cases would always take priority, but I had attended with ongoing chest pain and was now finding that the stress, exhaustion, and prolonged wait were worsening my symptoms.
I then asked whether I could at least be given the results of my blood tests. I was told that only a doctor could discuss those results. When I said my GP could obtain them instead, I was informed that if I eventually saw a doctor, my blood tests would likely need to be repeated, meaning a further wait of at least another two hours for the new results.
At that point, after almost thirteen hours in the Emergency Department without seeing a doctor, I made the difficult decision to leave. I asked for the cannula to be removed from my arm and again received an apology from the nursing staff. I also asked whether I could be told the results of my chest X-ray but was informed that only a doctor could discuss those findings.
Before leaving, I remarked that I assumed nothing immediately life-threatening had been identified because, had there been, I would surely have been called much earlier.
๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐
๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐&๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ. He asked whether I was still at the hospital or nearby. I explained that I was at home in bed. I asked whether he could tell me the results of my tests. He replied that he did not want to discuss them over the telephone because he felt I needed the full explanation in person.
๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ, ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ปโ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ, ๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ซ-๐ฟ๐ฎ๐, ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐&๐.
In other words, despite the hospital already having my investigations and results from only a few hours earlier, they would repeat every test rather than simply review me and discuss the findings.
The alternative offered was for my GP to request the results directly from the hospital. I chose that option, thanked the doctor, and immediately contacted my GP practice. The receptionist advised that they would request my results. When I had heard nothing by Thursday morning, I contacted the practice again and was again assured that the request would be made.
๐ง๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐ฏ ๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ. ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐น๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐. ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ณ๐-๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต, ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
I want to be clear that I do not blame the frontline staff. Throughout my time in UHL, the nurses and support staff were professional, courteous, and apologetic. They were working under immense pressure and doing everything they could within a system that is clearly overwhelmed.
The real issue is the lack of capacityโthere are simply not enough staff, treatment spaces, or resources to meet the volume of patients attending the Emergency Department.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐&๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
Many of us ask our GPs whether there are alternative pathways available specifically to avoid placing additional pressure on emergency services, only to be told that attending A&E is the only option. Yet, once there, patients are often told that they are not true emergencies and should not be there. That contradiction is both frustrating and demoralising.
During my time in the department, I personally witnessed three patientsโincluding myselfโleave before being seen by a doctor or receiving the results of investigations that had already been performed. I also saw two patients forced to lie on the floor because there was nowhere else for them to rest.
This situation is unsafe, unacceptable, and unsustainable. Patients are leaving hospital without knowing what is wrong with them or whether they require urgent treatment. Delays of this magnitude have serious consequences, both physically and emotionally.
My experience highlights a healthcare system under enormous strain. The dedication of frontline staff cannot compensate for chronic overcrowding, insufficient staffing levels, and a lack of appropriate alternatives for patients requiring urgent assessment.
Something has to change. Patients deserve timely access to appropriate care, and healthcare professionals deserve a system that enables them to provide it.
