It is clear that the Health Service Executive have not learned any lessons from over twenty years of flu-related hospital overcrowded. Flu season is well flagged, it happens every single year, yet it Is clear that no contingency plans are in place. There is no point in trying to deal with a crisis when we are mid-flow.
In the last twenty-four hours there has been a 22% increase in the amount of patients being admitted to hospital without a bed. The number of patients being put on trolleys outside of our emergency departments is a cause of concern. When respiratory infections are at large and circulating in the system, the answer cannot be to put trolleys close together in wards with poor ventilation.
Oppressive overcrowding is not just confined to one or two hospitals, we are seeing overcrowding challenges in each part of the country.
Our members want to be able to provide safe care to patients but also be assured that their own health and wellbeing is being protected - neither are guaranteed when they are working in overcrowded conditions where respiratory infections are rife.
The HSE and other public sector healthcare employers must assure nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers and indeed the public at large that they are taking extraordinary action to ensure that all barriers to providing safe care at this time are removed.