THE HSE HAS said that the availability of gowns for healthcare workers is a “significant issue” and will remain so until a further delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) arrives from China.  

HSE CEO Paul Reid said this morning that the executive has asked its supplier in China to accelerate its third batch of supplies into an earlier shipment due to the “very difficult challenges continuing our supply to the system”.

Reid said that tough new regulations are being put in place in China to ensure that exports of PPE are “up to standard” and that he has spoken to the Chinese Ambassador to ensure it won’t lead to a delay in equipment reaching Ireland. 

The HSE said last week that one-fifth of the first batch of PPE delivered from China didn’t meet the specified requirements. 

The second batch of deliveries is part of a €67 million order that includes “gowns, gloves, face shields, respiratory masks, etc”.

Reid said there is currently a particular shortage of gowns for healthcare staff.

“The second issue I want to flag with you is a significant issue in terms of gowns and availability of gowns all across the system,” he said.

We did demonstrate out to last week what we had what was a replacement for gowns and we have dispatched all of those, so there are some suppliers across the country. However, it is a significant issue for us this week and until we secure the further delivery from China.

Reid added that the HSE is to send out guidelines on the best use of gowns. 

“We will be tight on gowns in some places and chief clinical officer, Dr. Colm Henry, will later today issue a note to our system to set out the best use and the prioritisation use of gowns until we get this further delivery,” he said. 

Testing

Reid also pledged to end the Covid-19 testing backlog by the end of this week. 

He told a media briefing that a “significant backlog” of 35,000 tests had been build up in the system but that this has now been reduced to 11,000.  

He said it is planned that, between lab testing in Ireland and in Germany, this backlog will be eliminated this week.

The system has been beset by delays in recent weeks, with supply issues in relation to reagents – the chemicals needed for the testing process in laboratories – among the factors blamed. 

“We did build up a significant backlog, at that stage a backlog of probably close to about 35,000, that we had in total backlog. As of today, I’m pleased to say this morning that that’s now at 11,000. Primarily between the buildup of our lab capacity, and our ability now to bring on the European provider through Germany, that backlog will continue to be reduced and will be reduced completely during the course of this week,” Reid said. 

Reid also said that over 72,000 Covid-19 tests had now been completed and the highest daily number was achieved on Saturday when 7,903 tests had been completed. 

Health officials have said repeatedly that the target is to have capacity to carry out 15,000 tests a day. 

Providing further details about the pledge to end the testing backlog this week, Reid said that 80% of the testing would be done by German laboratories while 20% would be completed here in Ireland. 

Reid added that the “testing process and testing return so far (from Germany) have been very significant and of a good quality”. 

He said there are ongoing discussions with the German laboratories to “get that volume increased and sustained over the coming weeks” and that work in Irish laboratories will also be “scaled up”.

“We want to get to a level this week that we have no backlog, and we are meeting all the demand that comes in. That’s where we will be this week,” Reid said. 

ICU

Also as part of the briefing, HSE COO Anne O’Connor said there are currently 862 people with Covid-19 in acute hospitals throughout the country with 148 Covid-19 patients in ICU. 

There are also 127 non-Covid-19 patients in ICU across the country with 135 ICU beds still available. 

“Our surge plan for ICU goes up to in excess of 800, so have beds for people who need ICU in critical care and we have a surge plan that will allow for an increase in our beds across the system,” O’Connor said.