€40m hospital plan ‘a drop in ocean’ and ‘nowhere near sufficient’ for winter period

A €40m plan to deal with the anticipated surge in hospital activities over the winter has been described as a “drop in the ocean” by doctors at a time when operations are already being cancelled and daily trolley figures frequently exceed 400.

The Winter Initiative Plan, published yesterday by the Health Service Executive (HSE), commits to providing just 55 additional acute beds nationwide — too few to meet demand in Cork University Hospital (CUH) alone, where an additional 70 are needed, according to emergency medicine consultant Stephen Cusack.

Since the end of August CUH has had to cancel 40 surgeries, with another 40 cancelled at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH).