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Ireland\u2019s health service is potentially facing the most challenging week in its history, a minister for state has said.<\/p>\nIreland\u2019s health service is potentially facing the most challenging week in its history, a minister for state has said.<\/p>\n
Joe O\u2019Brien\u2019s stark prediction came as health minister Stephen Donnelly warned that the situation in hospitals would get worse before it got better, with \u201cvery serious pressure\u201d expected in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
The number of Covid-19 patients requiring intensive care treatment has risen sharply since the end of December.<\/p>\n
On Sunday morning, 1,923 coronavirus patients were being treated in Ireland\u2019s hospitals, 195 of whom were in intensive care units.<\/p>\n
Mr O\u2019Brien, minister of state for community development, said ICU capacity had been increased in preparation for the surge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have 313 ICU beds at the moment, that goes up to surge capacity of 350,\u201d he told RT\u00c9\u2019s The Week In Politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a very difficult week ahead I suspect, possibly the most challenging week for the health service almost in its history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Donnelly said sufficient clinical staff were available to deal with the increasing numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost importantly, we have the staff,\u201d he told RT\u00c9\u2019s This Week program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been a lot of work done since the first wave.<\/p>\n
\u201cPPE is fine. The number of ventilators \u2013 if you remember back in March that was a serious concern, oxygen is fine, a lot of work has been done.<\/p>\n
\u201cNonetheless, the system is and will continue to be under very serious pressure for the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments come a day after it was announced that hundreds of student nursing and midwifery placements have been suspended to free up staff to support the coronavirus response.<\/p>\n
The move will allow those qualified nurses and midwives who supervise and teach the students during the placements to focus on the battle against the virus.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Ireland\u2019s chief medical officer expressed concern that failures to fully comply with coronavirus rules and guidance was frustrating efforts to bring down infection rates.<\/p>\n
Dr Tony Holohan said reductions in infections were not happening fast enough, with the virus having taken hold in every part of Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis virus has taken root in every single part of the country,\u201d Dr Holohan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA significant percentage of the population \u2013 in excess of one in 10 in some counties \u2013 is currently either a case or a close contact. This is a huge burden of infection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you consider that a significant percentage of our daily cases will directly lead to hospitalization and mortality, the urgency with which we need to act becomes clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Virologist Dr Cillian De Gascun, who is director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, has highlighted the threat posed by the new variant first detected in the UK.<\/p>\n
He said it was inevitable that it would become the dominant variant in Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the nature of the mutation found in the UK variant of the virus, it is inevitable that it will become the dominant variant here in Ireland over time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK variant has adapted to us: simply put, it is better at moving from person to person when we come into contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what we must do is reduce its opportunities to spread by cutting out socializing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pressure is mounting in hospitals as efforts to roll out the vaccine in Ireland continue.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, around 1,900 GPs, practice nurses and other healthcare staff received Moderna jabs at mass vaccination centers in Dublin, Galway and Portlaoise.<\/p>\n