Health boards reeling from €1m cost of vomiting bug
The department says boards are seeking emergency funding to make up for unexpected shortfalls caused by dealing with the virus. Costs have spiralled in terms of lost revenue from operations, extra security and disease eradication procedures. Also, hospitals unaffected by the bug have had to struggle to accommodate the spill-over from units closed by the bug in other hospitals. The situation in Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, where there have been 100 outbreaks this autumn, stabilised this week. But the bug continues to spread through Dublin and Waterford.
At St James' Hospital in Dublin 16 people are in quarantine with what is believed to be the bug; six cases have been confirmed. There are a handful of unconfirmed cases in Tallaght Hospital and two suspected cases at St Vincent's.
