Minister pledges 199 additional beds by end of month |
The INMO said there were 760 patients waiting for admission to a bed today, surpassing the previous record based on INMO data of 714 patients, which was set on 12 March 2018.
The minister also said this week would be very demanding and challenging for the health service, but he believes flu levels have peaked. It said some hospitals had made the decision to restrict visiting in the interests of both patients and visitors. The union has called for a major incident protocol to be adopted across the country, as was done in March 2018.
SIPTU Health Division Organiser Paul Bell said the chaos was starving communities of a safe and functioning ambulance service. Speaking to RTÉ's News At One, Liam Woods said it was now running at "above 100% occupancy", which he acknowledged was "not a desirable position".
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