Homeless people presenting to UHL with 'chest pains' so they can have warm place to sleep
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A number of homeless people have been presenting at University Hospital Limerick’s emergency department claiming to have chest pains so they can have somewhere warm to spend the night.
In the region, about 60 people are sleeping rough, an unprecedented number according to Novas, a charity largely based in the Mid-West which is working with people who are homeless, or at the risk of becoming so.
Novas’ head of advocacy and communication, Una Burns, said it was not surprising a wave of homeless people was presenting to UHL’s emergency department looking for shelter.
“The demand for services, particularly the demand for emergency home accommodation, is exceeding capacity at this point,” she said.
“Obviously, that's not appropriate for the medical staff there because they're already under significant pressure. What we need is an urgent response to these people, something like a night cafe in the city, so that people have somewhere safe and appropriate to go.”
In the past year, the charity has seen an increase in the number of people who are sleeping rough. A couple of years ago, the charity recorded 10 people sleeping rough, and in June this year, it was 45.
And with the winter months soon approaching, Ms Burns said the situation could worsen.
“We'll probably see further rises in the winter months. The winter months bring more risk for people who are rough sleeping, because of poor weather, low temperatures, storms.”
This comes as Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan raised the alarm regarding the number of homeless people presenting to the ED at this week’s metropolitan district meeting. She said she would request that the HSE employs a homeless liaison nurse to help them find shelter.
According to Ms Burns, the response to the situation needs to be a collaborative effort.
“Our response to the rough sleeping would need to be a collaborative effort across the sector to provide the best response that we can to the people that need it the most. The response will be collaborative between the voluntary and statutory services, including the HSE and Limerick City Council, and like all services that are provided in the city.”
Novas offers a drop-in service until 9pm every night and also has a 24/7 helpline.
“Last year, there was over 2,800 presentations to our service, this was an extraordinary rise — before it was around 1,200,” Ms Burns said.