The union representing ambulance workers has described as both "staggering" and "shocking", the length of time paramedics spent queuing outside the region's main hospital earlier this week.
The union representing ambulance workers has described as both "staggering" and "shocking", the length of time paramedics spent queuing outside the region's main hospital earlier this week.
11 ambulances, which amounts to more than 90% of the entire fleet for the Mid-West region, were left waiting to offload patients for a number of hours outside University Hospital Limerick on Tuesday, when the overcrowding crisis peaked.
It was the worst situation of any hospital in the country on that day, with only Letterkenny in Donegal suffering from similar, though less severe circumstances.
SIPTU Divisional Organiser for Health, Paul Bell, says the winter period isn't the only time that this type of situation has arisen, but that this particular occasion was unprecedented.
