Just over 100 patients were waiting for a bed at UHL today, amid ongoing pressure on the Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly visited the hospital today where he spoke with staff and announced a number of measures to help ease overcrowding - such as extending the opening hours of Acute Medical Assessment Units at Nenagh, Ennis and St John's.

Minister Donnelly also has said he expects to see senior decision makers rostered after hours and on weekends and a strong patient flow team in place seven days a week.

On Lunchtime Live today, a number of local residents called up to describe the experiences of their relatives at UHL.

In October, Terri’s mother had a heart attack and was brought to UHL by ambulance.

“The place was absolutely jammers,” Terri said.

“It’s something that I personally will never forget.”

2E02YNN General views of University Hospital Limerick where respiratory consultant Dr Aiden O'Brien practices.

Terri said she is grateful that her mother was not “fully aware” of what was happening to her because otherwise she would have been “screaming to get out of there”.

“If I could have taken her out of there I would have,” she said.

“But that’s the problem, you have no choice.

“When somebody is that sick, you just have to take a chance and stay there.”

To this day, whenever Terri drives past the hospital, she blesses herself and prays she will never know someone else who is treated there as a patient.

“I have no issue with the staff - they were amazing,” she said.

“They are heroes in my eyes; what they are living through and putting up with everyday is absolute hell.”

Since then, Terri has taken to advising all her friends to avoid the hospital if at all possible in the event of a family illness.

General views of University Hospital Limerick in December 2020. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

In a statement to Newstalk, UHL said the care patients had recently been provided with was “not the kind of care we wish to provide."

"During the first quarter of this year, there have been 21,298 presentations to the Emergency Department at UHL, representing a 14% increase on the same period last year," a spokesperson said.

We are following our hospital escalation plan to maximise patient flow and create additional capacity to manage the consistently high levels of activity in the hospital."

Main image: Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Health.