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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.
The union pointed to Cork University Hospital, where management has confirmed that more than 100 nurses cannot work.
The hospital’s intensive care unit was currently “very busy,” according to a statement from the hospital’s management. To control the situation, all non-essential surgeries were canceled for the next week. Only critical emergency surgeries and elective cancer surgeries will be carried out, while outpatient services will also be “significantly reduced” in the coming week, the statement said.
The hospital has requested that individuals contact their primary care physician, South Doc Regional Community Health Service, Mercy Urgent Care Center, or local injury units in Bantry or Mallow.
Pressure on hospitals must be eased if staff are to be able to meet the needs of patients with and without coronavirus, as well as run a mass vaccination scheme, said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.
INMO calls for additional capacity to be obtained from the private sector and for the government to consider the childcare needs of frontline workers.
HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry said there were 62 people in ICU beds on Sunday afternoon, up from 56 on Saturday night and a significant increase from 29 two weeks ago.
There were 43 empty ICU beds and more than 500 empty beds throughout the acute care hospital system, he said.
“What worries us is this exponential increase and what that will take in a short period of time,” he told RTÉ’s This Week program.
Dr. Henry said the virus was “out of control” in the community with an increase in cases last week. He said the HSE was “very concerned” about the infection trends that were being seen.
“Our fear is that this will take a long time to change,” he said.
The hospital system could be “under considerable strain by the end of the month” without full compliance with Level 5 restrictions, he said.
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.
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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