'Continual strain' on health system as more than 1,000 in hospital with Covid-19

Paul Reid said that it was good news that the proportion of people entering hospital was “significantly down on what it would be in previous waves”.

HSE chief executive Paul Reid says there is "continual strain" on the health system as more than 1,000 people are now in hospital with Covid-19.

The news comes after days of record Covid-19 case numbers in Ireland, following the arrival of the Omicron variant late last year.

Mr Reid said on Monday that the pressure on the health is in part due to rising hospital cases but also as a result of significant staff absences due to Covid-19.

He said that it was good news that the proportion of people entering hospital was “significantly down on what it would be in previous waves”.

However, he said that despite indications that Omicron causes a less severe illness, “there is no-one in hospital with a mild illness”.

“One good positive thing – we’re not seeing the same level of patients needing advanced respiratory supports,” he told RTÉ radio.

The HSE boss said that around 14,000 to 15,000 staff are absent due to Covid-19.

He said that the “pace” of the absences had been a challenge for the HSE.

Following the opening of vaccinations for children aged five to 11, 83,000 have been registered to received the vaccine, Mr Reid said.

Around 27,000 had received a first dose of the vaccine, he added.

Mandatory vaccination

Ireland has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, with almost four million people fully vaccinated and more than two million people have received a booster.

Professor of Immunovirology at University College Cork (UCC), Prof Liam Fanning has called for a national discussion on mandatory vaccination for Covid-19.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) says it will look at the measure after it receives details from the Department of Health on legal and ethical aspects of such a move, according to a report in the Irish Times.

Ireland has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, with almost four million people fully vaccinated and more than two million people have received a booster.

“The idea needs to be fleshed out. It is worth having the discussion,” Prof Fanning told Newstalk Breakfast.

Here said that there was already mandatory vaccination (for other diseases) “in some form” in healthcare settings, so it was “not correct” to say that it was not already in place.

“Some professions have to have the Hepatitis vaccine,” he said, while visitors to certain countries also needed vaccines against tropical diseases which indicated that mandatory vaccination was acceptable in certain circumstances.

Paul Reid says that it was his personal view that a voluntary vaccination system was better than a mandatory system.

Prof Fanning said he could see mandatory vaccination being put in place for patient-facing or public-engagement professions.

However, Paul Reid indicated that he would not personally support such a move.

“I would prefer to be winning people’s heart and minds,” he said, referring to Ireland’s already high take-up of vaccines.

Mr Reid said the issue of mandatory vaccination was a policy matter for the Government to decide, which they would do on the basis of advice from Nphet.

He also said that the HSE expects that people will be able to register positive antigen tests online from later this week.

The Taoiseach has said in the past that he did not want to see mandatory vaccination for Covid-19, which Prof Fanning said indicated that there did not appear to be “an appetite” for such a measure.

He also called for booster certs to be required for social activity and hospitality as this would protect staff and customers as the booster shortened the window during which they were likely to be infectious.

When asked about the impact of the 8pm curfew and other restrictions over Christmas, Mr Reid said that the restrictions had been “proportionate” and that the public response over Christmas and New Year had been impressive and insightful.

People had taken the decision to reduce their contacts, he said. 

“The public were one step ahead of us and responded very well in a difficult period.” 

The HSE remains very focused “on what is coming at us” and the impact on the hospital system, Mr Reid added.

Meanwhile, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) is expressing concern at the pressure Omicron's putting on the health service.

Chair of the IMO's public health committee, Anne Dee, says the number of people off sick is "putting huge pressure" on health workers.

"There are very large numbers of people in hospital, well over 900 people in hospital with Covid currently, so yeah, I mean there is massive pressure on" Ms Dee said.

"Thankfully, at the moment the numbers in ICU are holding steady."

 - additional reporting from PA