Limerick City TD Maurice Quinlivan, today criticised the Minister for Health’s handling of the trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick, as figures show October has seen the highest number of patients on trolleys in a single month since records began.

Speaking from Limerick City today, Teachta Quinlivan said;

“Enda Kenny infamously said “I’ll end the scandal of patients on trolleys.”

“What a lie that turned out to be.

“After eight very unsuccessful years in government, Fine Gael have managed to escalate the trolley crisis to levels never seen before.

“This month an incredible 1,450 patients were forced to lie on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick, the highest number ever recorded in one hospital, in a single month.

“This crisis has been ongoing in Limerick for years now, and the government haven’t bothered to do anything to address it.

“Fine Gael have stood by and watched this situation get completely out of control at UHL.

“They have promised more beds and more wards, but these are years down the line, and by the time they are completed they won’t even accommodate the number of patients on trolleys today, let alone the number of patients attending in a few years’ time.

“It’s a total joke, people in Limerick are fed up of being treated as second class citizens when it comes to healthcare.

“People are being packed into UHL like sardines, and it has created a very dangerous situation.

“How do we expect nurses and doctors to work effectively in such overcrowded conditions, which can see over 80 patients on trolleys at the hospital on some days.

“In 2011, when Fine Gael entered government, the number of patients on trolleys in UHL in October was 367.

“Now after almost a decade of incompetence, the number of patients on trolleys in UHL in the month of October has quadrupled, to 1,450.

“What a shameful situation to have presided over.

“The Minister for Health has utterly failed in his brief and it’s time for him to go.

“He would be doing us all a favour if he brought his Fine Gael cabinet colleagues with him out the door of government buildings.”