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One in five public hospital beds will have to be kept free during the coronavirus crisis, increasing pressure on already overloaded waiting lists for essential treatment.
HSE chief Paul Reid said the plan is to use private hospitals, which have been temporarily taken over by the state, to treat public patients, many of whom are now at the center of serious medical concern, as thousands of procedures have been suspended since March.
However, he said public hospitals, which are normally full, will have to operate at a capacity of only 80 pieces for fear of a second surge in viruses.
Some 600 consultants in private hospitals who until now only treated private patients are asked to switch to a temporary HSE contract. So far, 241 have signed up.
But there remains a dispute over demands that the state subsidize the weekly cost of private rooms rented by wholly private consultants and the salaries of its staff.
Private hospital consultants, who will be paid a salary and not allowed to accept fees, also want more clarity on how they can provide ongoing care to their private patients. Insured patients should be on the general public’s waiting list, depending on the urgency of their medicine.
At the end of March, 77,748 public patients were waiting for an appointment for hospitalization or day case treatment, an increase of more than 11,000 in a month.
Delays are expected to have further deteriorated during April.
Mr. Reid said yesterday: “Our original intention for the use of private hospitals was as part of our augmentation capacity and to give us additional capacity to meet the demand on Covid-19.
“Obviously, with the actions that the public has taken, we have reduced the need for that increase, so we are now developing a plan for non-Covid related services to be delivered through our private hospital groups.
“But at the same time we have to maintain the capacity to deal with a possible further increase.”
Some public patients have not kept appointments, but were assured that hospitals have segregated care for patients with the virus and others who are not infected and need routine care.
Intensive care units (ICU) saw a decrease in the number of patients over the weekend with 98 patients with confirmed Covid-19 seriously ill.
There were 22 other ICU patients suspected of having the virus.
HSE chief operating officer Anne O’Connor said the health service had not seen the kind of numbers it originally feared.
However, he said that about 90 nursing homes remain in the so-called “red zone” and need intense support, mainly due to a shortage of staff after the coronavirus outbreaks.
100 outbreaks have been confirmed in disability services across the country and 36 in mental health centers.
A further 34 outbreaks were confirmed at other shared or crowded facilities, such as direct supply centers and among the Roma community here.
She said 394 public health service employees were relocated to community residential homes and that 74 home care workers were now in private nursing homes.
More than eight in 10 nursing homes that suffered a virus outbreak have tested residents and staff.
It is understood that a significant number of staff in the various residential settings were unaware that they had the virus and had no symptoms.
Irish Independent
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