Ventilator usage numbers static after worrying spike through March

The number of ventilators being used to treat critical patients with Covid-19 has remained static for much of the past week, while deaths in an ICU setting are also at a low level.

Internal HSE figures seen by the Irish Examiner state that 114 patients are currently being ventilated in Irish healthcare settings. A further 12 people are being ventilated for whom confirmation as to whether or not they have the coronavirus has not yet been received.

Public debate has been rife in recent weeks as to whether or not Ireland’s stock of ventilators is sufficient to handle the scale of the virus outbreak.

The new figures, which date from 2pm on April 8, show that the number of people being ventilated has been greater than 100 since March 31, but has grown by just four in the past week, suggesting that, for the moment, Ireland’s supply of the lifesaving equipment is proving sufficient.

The latest restrictions in operation since Friday, March 27 mandate that everyone should stay at home, only leaving to:
• Shop for essential food and household goods;
• Attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products;
• Care for children, older people or other vulnerable people - this excludes social family visits;
• Exercise outdoors - within 2kms of your home and only with members of your own household, keeping 2 metres distance between you and other people
• Travel to work if you provide an essential service - be sure to practice social distancing

Ventilator shortages have resulted worldwide due to the crisis, with stricken countries across the globe competing with each other to obtain access to scant supplies.

To date, the HSE has remained tight-lipped as to the number of people in critical care who are using ventilators - a form of generally invasive treatment which sees oxygen pumped into the lungs of patients who are struggling to breathe.

The devices work by taking the strain off a patient’s lungs to buy their body time with which to combat the viral infection. It’s understood that there are roughly 1,200 ventilators in Ireland, with the HSE having ordered a further 900 as the scale of the coronavirus crisis ramps up.

Some 70 people were on ventilators on the morning of March 28, with those numbers rising by 30 in just three days. However that accelerated growth rate has held steady at just over the 100 mark ever since.

The majority of people on ventilators in Ireland are in Dublin hospitals, with 61 of such instances occurring in six institutions in the capital. St James’s Hospital is number one on that list, with 15 people receiving such care, while Beaumont Hospital is in second place with 12.

While much focus has been placed on the availability of intensive care beds during the crisis, just two people had died in such a setting in the 24 hours prior to April 8.

The new data reveals that 146 people who are confirmed to have the virus are currently in intensive care, with a further 21 people also present who are suspected but not confirmed as having the disease.

Just 4%, or 227, of Ireland’s confirmed cases of coronavirus to date have been admitted to ICU, with 53 people discharged having recovered from the disease.

There were 138 available ICU berths across the country as of last night, according to Liam Woods, the HSE’s national director of operations, with surge capacity of over 800 available.

However, a number of hospitals across Ireland are running perilously close to full capacity. In Dublin, the Blackrock Clinic, Mater Hospital, and Tallaght Hospital have no ICU beds available, while regionally Tullamore Hospital is also full.

The hospitals in Cavan, Letterkenny, Mullingar, Navan, Portlaoise, and St Vincent’s and Temple Street Children’s Hospital have just one space available each.

There are currently 476 patients awaiting results of Covid-19 tests meanwhile in Ireland’s 29 acute hospitals.

Ireland yesterday recorded a further 25 deaths from the virus, 235 now in total, with a further 365 confirmed cases bringing the total across the country to 6,074.

The latest deaths figure is a 30% drop from the previous day’s figure of 36, suggesting that the much-feared exponential surge in the rate of people losing their lives has not yet materialised.

The Department of Health revealed yesterday that 28%, or 67, of the people who have died to date of Covid-19 did so outside of hospital.

It’s not yet clear if those deaths occurred predominantly in nursing homes or other residential care settings, which have seen a rapid growth in numbers of clusters over the past week.

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