The HSE has confirmed ongoing discussions with Bon Secours Hospital Limerick on a proposal that would allow appropriate medical patients to be transferred from University Hospital Limerick (UHL) during periods of peak demand, in a bid to relieve chronic overcrowding.
Under the proposed arrangement, patients would be treated and cared for in Bon Secours Limerick as the private hospital continues the phased opening and expansion of services at its new facility, which is reported as a €213 million development.
UHL remains the region’s only 24-hour Emergency Department, serving a catchment of more than 400,000 people across North Tipperary, Limerick, Clare and parts of Cork and Kerry.
Current position
In a statement, Bon Secours said: “As the new Bon Secours Hospital Limerick opens an additional ward, discussions are being finalised to support the public system in providing care for several medical patients from University Hospital Limerick.”
The HSE Mid West said it has been in discussions with Bon Secours “about transfer of appropriate patients… to alleviate pressure on UHL during periods of peak demand”, adding that it hopes an agreement will be finalised “in the coming weeks”.
Overcrowding context
Latest figures, reported this week, show UHL continuing to account for the highest numbers of patients awaiting admission. On Friday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reported 107 patients on trolleys and in other inappropriate spaces at UHL, while the HSE’s TrolleyGAR, reporting, indicated 55 admitted patients waiting on trolleys at the hospital.
Overcrowding has persisted despite recent expansion works, including the official opening of a €105 million 96-bed block at the UHL campus in October 2025.
Background and longer-term planning
The current pressure on UHL is widely linked to the mid-west reconfiguration in 2009, which saw 24-hour emergency departments closed and services centralised, including in Ennis, Co. Clare and Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, as well as St John’s Hospital Limerick.
The Government has also recently indicated it will progress a “blend” of options advised by HIQA to address urgent and emergency care capacity in the region, following its review, as outlined by Minister Ms Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
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