Over 2,000 more over-75s presented to Limerick ED last year compared to 2024
The country’s most overcrowded hospital saw a 17 per cent rise in admissions of over-75s from its ED last year, new figures reveal.
University Hospital Limerick (UHL) admitted 8,244 patients aged 75 or over from its emergency department (ED) in 2025, more than any other healthcare setting.
This number represents 48 per cent of the 15,323 over-75s who presented to UHL’s ED seeking care – an increase of 2,223 (also 17 per cent) on 2024.
The rise in admissions seen in UHL is far higher than the national average. Across all hospitals with an ED, an increase in admissions of 6.1 per cent among over-75s was recorded. Nationally, older ED presentations rose by 7.5 per cent.
Across all ages, UHL saw a 10 per cent rise in presentations to its ED, but just a five per cent increase in the number of those people who went on to be admitted for further treatment.
The Midwest hospital’s ED remained the busiest in the country, with 94,590 attendances and 29,526 admissions.
The figures were highlighted in a recent weekly HSE Urgent and Emergency Care Performance Update, which covered the period up to December 28.
Nationally, in the year up to this date there were over 1.6 million ED presentations made across the country, an increase of 4.1 per cent on 2024 figures.
Admissions from ED rose 2.2 per cent last year, reaching 414,110 by December 28. This means that just over one-in-four (25.8 per cent) of ED presentations led to the patients being kept in the hospital for further care.
The data comes as hospitals deal with severe levels of overcrowding this week. On Tuesday the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reported a peak of 803 patients being treated in trolleys and chairs due to lack of available beds. Of those, 127 were in UHL.
“INMO members have advised that they are very concerned about the age profile of patients being admitted to hospital on trolleys,” said INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.
“In one location a ninety-year-old was waiting on a hard chair for over 45 hours before receiving a bed. In another location, over 72 per cent of admitted inpatients are over 75.
“The fact that older citizens who have been deemed sick enough for admission are being treated on trolleys, chairs and other inappropriate spaces for long periods is distressing.”
The high levels of activity led HSE Mid West to issue a call to the public to consider alternative care options before attending an ED.
Referring to UHL, a statement from the region said: “A record 95,373 people attended our ED last year – the busiest in the country with the highest annual increase in presentations of 10 per cent – and that pattern of high attendances has continued into 2026.
“With approximately half these patients arriving at the ED without GP referral, we’re urging people to first use the available alternatives where possible, including local pharmacies and family doctors, as well as walk-in Injury Units and GP-referral Medical Assessment Units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospital for non-life-threatening conditions and injuries.”
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