Varadkar and Donnelly to meet with HSE officials as winter infections surge
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly at the Press Centre at Government Buildings Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly are to meet with senior Health Service Executive officials later today to discuss the surge in winter virus infections.
The meeting coincides with the HSE establishing a National Crisis Management Team, warning that the anticipated surge in winter virus infections in the coming days will "bring the highest pressure on the State’s health service that has ever been seen".
It said it expects flu and Covid-19 infection and hospitalisation numbers to rise "very rapidly in the coming few weeks" and that will seriously impact hospitals and emergency departments as well as GP and GP out-of-hours services.
HSE chief executive Stephen Mulvany said: “It is now looking increasingly likely that we will see the demand for health services rising well above anything we have seen before.
"It is therefore critical that we continue to prepare to the maximum level possible for the projected further surge in demand for services in late December and early January."
The HSE said that, from its preliminary analysis, there could be more than 900 patients in hospital with flu in the first week in January, with that number likely continuing to rise further into the month.
"“As of 8am on Thursday there were 656 people in hospital with Covid-19, 26 of whom were confirmed cases in ICU," it said.
The HSE also pointed out that National Crisis Management Teams (NCMTs) are only established when needed for the "highest level of escalation of an issue". They involve senior healthcare leaders with relevant specialists "to put national focus on a particular matter".
"The NCMT, composed of senior health service leadership including representatives of hospital groups and community healthcare organisations, will give national support and guidance to the response of hospitals and community services throughout the country," it said.
However, the general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said the situation had been “completely predictable” and that “the horse has bolted” in relation to the introduction of the crisis team.
Speaking to RTÉ, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that patients were waiting a “totally unsuitable” amount of time to be seen in emergency departments.
She said: “The HSE should be making sure that from today, there are very senior clinicians on duty, 24 hours, every day, making sure that patient flow is absolutely prioritized. They should be extending the hours that GPs are open and they should be asking the private hospitals to get on this pitch.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha added that the INMO have asked the HSE for hospital-by-hospital plans for the next two weeks and that staff who were doing all they could were “distraught and extremely angry.”
