THE HIGH NUMBER of patients without a bed and the current level of Covid-19 cases in hospitals is a “recipe for disaster”, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has warned. 

There are 544 patients on trolleys in hospitals across Ireland today. A total of 1,042 patients are in hospital with Covid-19 currently. 

“The fact that we have 544 patients on trolleys today and over 1,042 patients in hospitals with Covid-19 almost two years to the day that the virus first reached our shores is a recipe for disaster,” INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said. 

“If our past experience of Covid and high numbers of patients on trolleys has taught us anything, we will be seeing the impacts of this on our health system for many weeks to come,” Ní Sheaghdha said.

She added that “if non-emergency services need to be curtailed in order to allow the HSE and hospital groups to get a handle on out-of-control trolley figures and Covid cases within the hospital system then that must be done”. 

“The HSE has a duty as an employer and as a service provider to take the necessary steps to scale up capacity. The current state of our health system is extremely concerning,” she said. 

“It is now time for the Minister to attend the Emergency Department taskforce and to ask the HSE to put in place realistic short-term pressure relieving measures.” 

Public health officials on Friday reported 9,186 PCR confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. In addition, 6,752 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE over the previous 24 hours, bringing the combined total of Covid-19 cases reported on Friday to 15,938. 

Covid-19 cases are no longer published over the weekend. This figures are expected to be published today.