There are fears the ongoing crisis at UHL may have an indirect impact on University Hospital Kerry.
A Limerick county councillor says people in his area of West Limerick are choosing to go to UHK in Tralee rather than UHL over fears for their care.
It follows the revelations made about conditions in UHL’s Emergency Department during the inquest into the tragic death of a 16-year-old girl at the Limerick hospital.
16-year-old Aoife Johnston died in December 2022 at University Hospital Limerick, after she was left 12 hours before seeing a doctor.
A verdict of medical misadventure was returned in the inquest into her death this week, with witnesses describing the facility as a "warzone" on the day she presented - with others describing the overcrowding as "unprecedented".
Fine Gael councillor for the Newcastle West Municipal District, John Sheahan, who’s from Glin, says these descriptions are causing a real worry for people in the county.
Cllr Sheahan also sits on the HSE’s Regional Health Forum West, and criticised its ability to make real change.
Fianna Fáil councillor in the Kenmare Municipal District, Norma Moriarty, sits on the regional health forum South.
She says the forum can impact positive change.
Cllr Moriarty agrees there may be more presentations at UHK as a result of the crisis at UHL.
