Hospitals 'unsafe' for patients due to Covid infection levels
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, representing nurses in emergency departments and overcrowded wards, and the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine, representing doctors working in emergency departments, are jointly calling for government assistance to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Higher rates of infection are causing high rates of hospital admission. Hospitals are overwhelmed and staff need real assistance.
This comes as over 10,000 patients have been without a bed since the mask mandate was lifted on February 28 and over 1,601 patients are in hospital currently with Covid.
In addition to the very serious patient risks, there are very significant risks for medical and nursing staff who are now exhausted from being on the front line, dealing with wave-upon-wave of patients diagnosed with Covid and the other drivers of increased attendances, including a significant increase in acute mental health emergencies and increased paediatric admissions, while dealing with their own personal and family anxieties.
A statement outlined: "We are now calling on government, public health officials and HSE senior management to take action:
"Public health measures must be revisited, particularly the simple ones: mask-wearing in indoor and congregated settings and working from home.
"There should be adherence to the advice from the World Health Organisation.
From HPSC figures it is clear that 89,432 of the pandemic’s total 1,442,877 cases had occurred within the two weeks prior to March 27.
"Up to 58% of all Covid deaths in Ireland have been linked to outbreaks, with over 90% of those linked to outbreaks in healthcare facilities."
INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “While wearing masks and working from home will assist, they will not stop the spread, but have and will reduce intensity of infection and reduce cross infection. Mandating these measures is now a matter of urgency.
“Predictable overcrowding in winter, mixed with higher community spread of an airborne contagious infection means decision-makers are not in the dark.
"Abandoning our public acute hospitals is a decision that government cannot make, this would be the wrong decision for patients and the wrong one for staff.
“Hospitals are currently not safe for patients or for staff because of the level of overcrowding and Covid infection levels.
"We need clear and coherent public health advice from Government and senior public health officials. The public need to be made aware of why we need them to once again step up to the plate in order to protect those who are working on our frontlines.”