It's a case that lays bare our creaking health system... A pensioner with severe high blood pressure discharged from hospital in the small hours of the morning - despite protests by medics

Published: 22:49, 7 June 2026 | Updated: 22:49, 7 June 2026 A pensioner with severe high blood pressure was discharged from hospital in the small hours of the morning – despite protests by medics – and refused re-admission to her nursing home, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal. The patient, who is nearly 80, was removed from University Hospital Limerick (UHL) at around 1.30am in April. It happened despite protests from nurses and other healthcare professionals over her condition at the country’s most overcrowded hospital. The decision to discharge the patient was made even though her systolic blood pressure was over 180. This is the top number read on the blood pressure monitor. Anything over 140 is considered high pressure. In spite of the concerns, the doctor involved decided on her release to a nearby nursing home. However, when she arrived, her systolic pressure had risen to over 200. This reading means you are suffering a severe cardiac episode and in need of immediate attention, according to the Irish Heart Foundation and other respected organisations across the world. The nursing home refused to accept the patient and said she needed to be returned immediately to the hospital, which is what happened. The woman was returned to the emergency department at UHL and was, again, placed in a queue for treatment, those with knowledge of the incident told the Mail. The news comes as UHL was recorded as having the highest level of overcrowding in the country last month, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO). Figures from the organisation found 2,018 patients were treated on trolleys or chairs at UHL in May. Cork University Hospital was next with 806 patients. Regarding the latest incident, nursing staff were left ‘angry and upset’ due to the manner in which their complaints were ignored. However, they were relieved to see the woman return. Medics at the facility, including doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants, have repeatedly told this paper about their concerns over the discharging of elderly patients at UHL, often late at night or in the early hours of the morning, to free up bed spaces. UHL had the highest level of overcrowding among hospitals across the country last month UHL has previously told the Mail it is ‘not our usual practice’ to do so. However, commenting on the issue in general, one nurse said the practice of ‘turfing older people out of hospital in the middle of the night’ was an ‘almost daily occurrence’. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the nurse said: ‘It’s heartbreaking. We want to do what’s best for the patient at all times. But there’s always a bed crisis and they’re trying to move people out of those spaces to free them up. ‘We try to say, “I don’t think this is the best option”, or, “Look at the results” from certain tests, but most of the time our worries fall on deaf ears or, even worse, we just get shouted at by management that this is the way it is and we need to free up bed space.’ The Mail has repeatedly exposed how UHL has been removing geriatric patients in the middle of the night, often causing deep upset, especially amongst those with dementia and similar diseases. UHL has repeatedly said the discharge of inpatients from the hospital, or their return to their long-term care residence, is a clinically-guided decision that can only be effected with the consent of the patient and their loved ones, or caregivers. ‘Overnight discharges, or return to their long-term care residence, are the exception rather than the rule, and there has been no change in policy in this regard,’ a recent statement from UHL read. Regardless of the policy, UHL has continued to remove older patients to nursing homes, or their family homes, at unsuitable hours, half a dozen different medical sources told this paper. One healthcare assistant said it is an ‘open secret’ and that she has often seen confused patients ‘crying’ and ‘not knowing what’s going on’. She added that it was akin to ‘elder abuse’. In 2024, we revealed how security staff at UHL were called to move a confused elderly patient from his bed at 4am in scenes described as ‘wrong’, ‘sickening’ and ‘upsetting’ at the most overcrowded hospital in the country. In one incident, at around 4am in February 2024, a man in his 80s was woken to be told he was being discharged. But, despite security being called, sources told the Mail staff refused to move the patient, who was said to be extremely confused at what was happening. This story led to UHL apologising to the man. ‘We regret that on this occasion such a delay resulted in an attempt to transfer the patient back to the community setting at an inappropriate hour. It is not our usual practice at UHL to transfer patients in the early hours of the morning, and we would like to sincerely apologise to the patient in question for any distress caused,’ its statement after the incident read . In a statement, the HSE said: ‘HSE Mid West cannot comment on individual cases when to do so might reveal information in relation to identifiable individuals, breaching the ethical requirement on us to observe our duty of confidentiality. ‘Discharges and transfers of inpatients from UHL are clinically guided decisions that require consent from a patient and their loved ones or caregivers, and typically take place during the daytime and early evening. ‘Overnight transfers/discharges of inpatients are the exception, rather than the rule. At busy times, for patients who are in ED but not admitted, it may be appropriate to transfer them to one of the region’s Model 2 hospitals. Consent is always sought from the patient, and each transfer is dealt with case by case.’ The Department of Health was contacted for comment. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.