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More than 200 patients contracted Covid-19 while in hospital for other reasons in recent weeks, new figures from Health Service Executive (HSE) show.
There have been 219 confirmed cases of patients acquiring Covid-19 within acute care hospitals in the four weeks to Dec. 13, according to figures provided to The Irish Times.
Some 90 patients contracted the virus while in the hospital in the week through November 22, with 46 cases of Covid-19 acquired at the hospital in the last week of November.
There were 51 confirmed cases of patients who contracted the virus from others while in hospitals in the first week of December and 32 cases acquired in hospital in the week through December 13.
In most cases, patients will be screened for Covid-19 as they enter the hospital, followed by periodic testing.
An HSE spokeswoman said that “control of hospital-acquired Covid-19 is essential to protect patients from infections, protect healthcare workers from exposure, and reassure potential patients who need hospital services that it is sure to go to the hospital. “
The HSE reviews and monitors the level of hospital acquired cases each week and provides additional support to hospitals facing virus outbreaks, he said.
Overall, there were 241 Covid-19 patients in acute hospitals on Monday and 29 in intensive care units. There have been 18 additional hospitalizations in the past 24 hours, according to figures released Monday night.
The latest figures as of Sunday evening show that Beaumont Hospital in North Dublin was currently treating the largest number of Covid-19 patients with 47 confirmed cases. This was followed by Letterkenny General Hospital in Co Donegal (32), St Luke Hospital in Kilkenny (22) and, in South Dublin, St Vincent Hospital (16) and Tallaght Hospital (14).
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