HSE asked to find extra beds for under pressure Cork hospitals

Delays at the emergency departments  at both Mercy University Hospital and Cork University Hospital following a spike in presentations

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has written to the HSE asking it to find extra bed space as Cork hospitals struggle to meet capacity. File Picture.

The HSE has been told to find extra bed capacity urgently for Cork’s largest hospitals amid fears of rising Covid-19 figures and a winter surge of patients.

It follows delays at the emergency departments (ED) at both the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) and Cork University Hospital (CUH) following a spike in presentations.

MUH also confirmed that it is treating a “low number” of people with Covid-19.

Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation showed that both hospitals had, yesterday morning, the highest number of patients on trolleys awaiting admission of any hospital in the country - 29 at CUH and 22 at MUH.

Both hospitals appealed to members of the public who need less urgent treatment to go elsewhere for medical attention, if possible.

Management at CUH said its ED has been exceptionally busy over the last few days and  the increase in attendance was due to the large number of very ill medical patients requiring admission. “It is regrettable that some patients may experience a delay in the ED,” a spokesperson said.

Patient care is paramount in CUH and this situation is being treated as a priority by hospital management who have taken steps to address this issue

They asked people to explore all other options prior to attending the ED if their needs are not urgent.

Management at MUH said they had implemented their escalation policy after the surge in presentations to the ED led to delays. “MUH would like to stress that the clinical needs of all patients in the ED are being cared for,” a spokesman said.

Patients with less urgent complaints were advised to contact their GPs or South Doc, in the first instance, or avail of services at the Mercy Local Injury Unit which is based at St Mary’s Health Campus in Gurranabraher. South Doc is an option for those seeking medical attention outside of working hours.

Sinn Fein TD Donnchadh O Laoghaire fears hospitals will struggle to cope with rising cases of Covid-19.

Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire described the ED delays as “very concerning”. 

It is clear that the hospital system here is already under severe pressure, and may struggle to cope with an influx of Covid-19 related cases

“I have written to the HSE, asking that they urgently identify as many additional beds as possible in community hospital settings and in step-down facilities, to ease the pressure on the major acute hospitals."

In relation to its Covid-19 patients, MUH said the appropriate disease management arrangements remain in place. It recently installed cabins on the footpath outside its city campus to provide accommodation and clinical capacity for its ED. The space is due to be operational by mid-October.