Ireland’s hospitals will be “invaded” by the third wave of Covid-19, with up to 3,000 people admitted by the end of the month if the virus continues its current exponential growth rate.
The stern warning was issued by Dr. Colm Henry, HSE’s clinical director, as the number of positive Covid-19 cases skyrocketed to more than 3,000 last night and is expected to double to 6,000 in a few days.
The crisis facing hospitals has been compounded by chronic staff shortages due to the virus.
The HSE estimates that 2,000 hospital healthcare workers were out of work last week as a result of Covid-19, the Sunday Independent learned.
Around 1,000 of them are believed to have contracted Covid-19 at a hospital.
An estimated 400 beds across the hospital system were closed last week, partly due to staff shortages throughout the system, but also due to infection control measures.
Dr. Henry, a member of the National Public Health Advisory Team, said the cases resulting from this third increase “will turn into hospitalizations and intensive care requirements.”
“This is already happening, in the case of hospitalizations at an exponential rate.
“While we can accommodate current pressures, projections based on current trends suggest numbers of at least 2,000 to 3,000 people in the hospital by the end of the month,” he said.
“What will happen if this is fulfilled is that our health system will be invaded. Despite all our contingencies, our preparations and our capacity to increase, our health system is in danger of being invaded,” he warned.
“We are looking for hospitals that cannot accommodate patients and intensive care departments that cannot meet all intensive care needs.
“We are talking about the provision of care outside of normal settings.”
Describing the situation as “dire” and an “unprecedented scenario for the health service in this country,” Dr. Henry pleaded with the public to adhere now more than ever to public health guidelines.
“We have seen how even the best-developed healthcare systems are fragile in the face of an absolute exponential increase in Covid-19 cases,” he said.
“We have no choice as a society but to respond decisively now to avoid the kind of scenarios we are imagining.”
Some hospitals are expected to start cutting back on other elective procedures after the weekend to cope with the influx of Covid-19 patients.
Dr Colman O’Loughlin, director of clinical care and ICU consultant at Mater Hospital in Dublin, said: “We are talking about major restrictions on hospital activities if we see those numbers go up and up.
“You’re talking about canceling all outpatients, canceling most elective surgeries, or sending them to quieter, more private hospitals,” he said.
