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Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has defended Ireland\u2019s intensive care bed capacity as the Government gambles on avoiding another lockdown.<\/p>\nHealth Minister Stephen Donnelly has defended Ireland\u2019s intensive care bed capacity as the Government gambles on avoiding another lockdown.<\/p>\n
The Government controversially departed from public health advice for the first time to reject a move to level five of coronavirus restrictions, instead moving to level three nationwide.<\/p>\n
Mr. Donnelly has insisted that this was the \u201cbest decision\u201d for the country.<\/p>\n
But the move is said to have angered officials at the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), which has warned that intensive care units will become overwhelmed.<\/p>\n
Currently 243 out of 281 intensive care beds are occupied, leaving just 38 available.<\/p>\n
However Minister Donnelly has insisted that hospital services can cope.<\/p>\n
He told RTE\u2019s Morning Ireland: \u201cThe surge capacity that the HSE can bring online quickly is north of 300 ICU beds.<\/p>\n
Over a two-year period, we\u2019re looking for a very substantial increase.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut lets remember that at the very height of this, when there were many more people in hospital, and many times more ICU admissions, we didn\u2019t come close to needing the kind of ICU capacity that the HSE had put in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the tragically many men and women that have lost their lives to this virus in Ireland, a very small percentage of them ever go anywhere near intensive care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Donnelly said he had spoken with HSE chief executive Paul Reid about the issue, who told him he believes there is sufficient capacity in ICU beds.<\/p>\n
Asked if he would take responsibility if the decision to depart from public health advice proved to be wrong, Mr Donnelly replied: \u201cIt\u2019s not about who\u2019s right and who\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about trying to make the best decision we can given the evidence we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Minister said the situation had changed since March and that there were other factors to consider other than the suppression of the virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we needed to consider nothing other than the suppression of the virus, if we didn\u2019t need to consider the entire of the country, then clearly one could make an argument that says well everyone just needs to go home, close down businesses, don\u2019t leave your house.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd obviously we know that the virus would be suppressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we have to make what we believe is the best decision on behalf of the entire country, that is what we have done.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that level three measures have been shown to work \u201cwhen we all work hard to put them in place\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has criticized the T\u00e1naiste over comments he made about Nphet.<\/p>\n
She accused the Government of \u201canswering back\u201d to Nphet and said Leo Varadkar had \u201csquared up\u201d to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan in his comments on Monday night.<\/p>\n
Mr. Varadkar had said that Nphet\u2019s recommendation to move to level five \u201chad not been thought through\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ms. McDonald said the advice was given in \u201cgood faith\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the Government should be \u2018bounced\u2019 into anything, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair that a body that is specifically charged to provide you with best medical and scientific advice to then accuse those people of attempting to bounce you,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Under level three restrictions people will be asked to remain in their county and can have up to six visitors from just one other household.<\/p>\n
Indoor gatherings will be banned, but pubs and restaurants will be allowed to remain open but with additional restrictions.<\/p>\n