MORE THAN 1,000 people are hospitalised with the flu, with the HSE CEO saying that the health system is “under pressure”.
Bernard Gloster said that yesterday was the second highest day of emergency department attendance over the Christmas period, as he urged people who have flu symptoms to restrict their contacts and refrain from visiting people in hospital or care settings.
There were 1,017 people in hospital with the flu this morning, compared to 984 yesterday and 869 on Sunday. This day last week, there were 562 people hospitalised with flu.
The HSE said this number was “increasingly rapidly” and that hospitals are “extremely busy”, with GP out-of-hours services, GP surgeries, ambulance services, hospital emergency departments and inpatient services “all feeling the effects of respiratory illnesses, primarily influenza”.
“Our hospitals are currently extremely busy. Yesterday, emergency departments saw a total of 5,150 patients, with 1,200 of those admitted for various cases and emergencies, including individuals suffering from winter respiratory viruses, mainly flu,” a spokesperson said.
HSE CEO Bernard Gloster said there were 322 people waiting on hospital trolleys this morning “and they were being cared for in both hospital wards and in our EDs”.
“All our staff and systems are responding and managing very well. Even though we have improved on recent years, there is no doubt that the system is under pressure.”
Gloster said the health service is urging everyone to help and cooperate with infection prevention control measures that are currently in operation in hospitals. This includes any visitor restrictions that may be in place.
“We know that can be difficult for families and loved ones, especially at this time of year, but we must protect our patients and prevent the spread of infections in hospitals and other healthcare settings,” he said.
Our hospitals and emergency departments are extremely busy, with more patients attending and needing to be admitted for hospital treatment. Anyone attending ED with a less urgent condition may face long waiting times. We apologise to those experiencing long wait times.
— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) December 30, 2024
Visiting… pic.twitter.com/5Fzrz1flF4
The health service chief said GP practices around the country are offering additional hours outside their normal surgery hours, with the number of people using GP out-of-hours services up by over 45% in some areas compared to this time last year.
“We would urge people who are feeling unwell to contact their GP.”
The HSE is also asking people to take care when socialising this New Year’s Eve.
“This is a joyous time for many, but we encourage people to take care,” Gloster said.
“Road safety, food safety, fire safety, mental wellbeing are all issues people need to consider and when these are not attended to the consequences can be significant.
“Additionally this year we would ask if you are in any way Flu symptomatic, please protect yourself and others by restricting your contacts and please do not visit people in hospital or care settings.”
Elsewhere, figures released today from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s TrolleyWatch, show that 122,186 patients, including 2043 children, were admitted to hospital without a bed in 2024.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said this level is “unacceptable”.
Ní Sheaghdha said hospital staffing and scaling up capacity needs to be a top priority for the incoming new government.
She also called for all recruitment embargoes and moratoriums to be lifted.
“We know that because of the high rate of hospital admissions of flu and other respiratory illnesses, our members are currently working in very difficult circumstances. The number of patients being treated on trolleys both in our emergency departments and on wards will have implications for infection control.
“Placing trolleys on ward corridors where there are no windows or proper air flow systems render the areas unsafe for staff and patients,” Ní Sheaghdha said.
She added: “The HSE must outline what steps they are planning to take over the coming days to radically reduce the number of patients on trolleys while respiratory illnesses are rampant.”
Additional reporting from Jane Matthews
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