Taoiseach instructs HSE to utilise all resources available to address hospital pressures

Dublin: As Covid-19, flu and RSV put pressure on hospital facilities, the Taoiseach called on the HSE to deploy all available resources to deal with the surge. Leo Varadkar told reporters that private hospitals would have to be used to deal with the growing crisis in admissions.

Soon after the formation of the HSE National Crisis Management Team (NCMT), top officials closely monitored the situation and received daily updates from the HSE and the Department of Health, a government spokesperson said. The INMO said 360 patients, including 19 children, are currently without beds in Irish hospitals.

We've been saying since mid-July that they now have reservoirs of cross-infection to the point where hospitals are overcrowded. It was not yesterday when the Crisis Management Team was formed, which has been in place since July. ” “Our hospitals are poorly ventilated, and there are people sitting on trolleys with no infectious diseases within walking distance of the person on the next trolley.

"Now the full pressure is on the frontline nurses, doctors and others who are trying to cope. They're upset now. They're extremely angry. They feel like they've been left in a situation that they could have avoided if they had planned. Time," she said.

The HSE has expressed concern that more than 900 patients may have been admitted to hospital with the flu in the first week of January, with the number expected to rise further in January. Currently, 656 people are hospitalized with Covid-19, of whom 26 are in the ICU and 600 are hospitalized with other respiratory illnesses.

Currently, around 250 children are being treated in hospitals for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and 300 are being treated for influenza virus. Such a situation has never happened before and the current situation has created a lot of pressure on the health sector of the country.

Efforts to address the crisis continue by adding more hospital beds, extending the opening hours of local injury units and increasing the number of staff in emergency departments. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization said beds were not available for 760 patients admitted to hospital last night.

The Fine Gael leader said he expected pressure to intensify in January, February and March. Varadkar said that there are currently 3 viruses that are causing problems - Covid-19, flu and RSV.

He sought to reassure the public that Ireland was ready for this and that capacity could be increased. There are 1,000 more hospital beds than two years ago. That's the equivalent of three new hospitals. There are more nurses, doctors and midwives in the health service. "No matter how well prepared we are, we're still going to be under a lot of pressure because it's going to happen across Europe and across the northern hemisphere this winter," he said.

He said there was no proposal yet to resume mandatory mask wearing, but the state was encouraging people to cover their faces on public transport. He asked people with "respiratory symptoms" to stay at home and not pass it on to children or vulnerable elderly people.

“They can keep you from getting sick, and if they don't keep you from getting sick, they certainly keep you from being hospitalized or needing an ICU bed that someone else could use. Yes, be it a new vaccine or a covid vaccine. Unvaccinated people are really encouraged if they work,