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The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO) warned that hospitals are now under “extreme” pressure due to Covid-19.
The union said its members were concerned about a “significant increase in the number of patients presenting, along with high levels of staff absent due to Covid or self-isolation.”
IMMO Secretary General Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that “the progress we made in keeping case numbers low appears to be completely undone.
“Covid is creating more patients at the same time that it depletes staff. It is a vicious combination. The staff have much more experience than they had at the beginning of this pandemic, but it is difficult to cope with the large numbers.
673 patients at the hospital were treated for the virus Sunday morning with 75 admissions and 23 discharges from the hospital during the previous 24 hours.
This is more than double the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 a week earlier. The daily rate of hospitalizations is the highest since the pandemic began in March.
There were 56 seriously ill patients in the intensive care units on Saturday night with 10 new admissions and one discharge in the last 24 hours.
He said the government had ordered all non-essential hospital procedures to be postponed if hospitals reach capacity to handle Covid-19 cases.
There were another 3,394 Covid-19 cases reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) on Saturday, nearly double the highest number previously recorded in one day.
Nphet reported four additional deaths, bringing the number of Covid-19-related deaths to 2,252. There have been 96,926 confirmed cases of the disease in the state.
Transportation Minister Eamon Ryan said the government had given “clear instructions” to the Department of Health and HSE that all non-essential medical electives or outpatient services be suspended to ensure sufficient beds are available for people with the virus. He added that some 1,500 beds, which were available over the Christmas period, should be kept free.
“What we have told the hospitals and the health system is to let them go free, not to fill them again with procedures that could be postponed to a later date because we could see that we were facing a real difficulty with this. growing numbers, ”Ryan told On the Record with Newstalk’s Gavan Reilly on Sunday morning.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said it was “more important than ever that each and every one of us do what is asked of us.” He tweeted on Sunday: “Stay home and strictly limit social contacts. We must do everything possible to protect the most vulnerable and those on the front line. “
On Saturday night, medical director Dr. Tony Holohan said that the Covid-19 incidence rate was just as high, if not higher now, than it was in March.
“Each individual needs to act like they are contagious. Hospitalizations are increasing to levels close to what we saw in the spring. Everyone needs to stay home except for work or essential care, ”he said.
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