Proportion of healthcare employees Covid-19 circumstances rise

Over 4 percent of healthcare Covid-19 cases were "most likely" acquired in healthcare

Paul Reid, CEO of HSE

In the past 14 days, confirmed new cases of Covid-19 among health workers have risen to nearly 12 percent from 1,810 new cases, reports the Irish Medical Times.

More than 4 percent of 210 confirmed health-care Covid-19 cases in the past two weeks were "most likely" acquired in health care, according to recent figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC).

So far, a total of 30 percent of Covid-19 cases have been in the healthcare sector.

By two weeks ago, when the number of confirmed cases had increased, the rate of new cases among healthcare workers had dropped to a low of 3 percent, CEO Paul Reid told the Health Service Executive's (HSE) latest operational briefing.

Numbers presented at the briefing showed that there were more than 13,000 GP referrals for testing on Monday this week, more than double the previous Monday.

That was generally against 4,000-5,000 GP referrals, while the number of referrals hit 8,000 on Tuesday. Reid added that there was a significant increase in upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs).

The HSE saw a worrying trend for people with worrying fears to present themselves to all health services, and that was an obvious problem for them.

Reid urged people to live with strong levels of confidence and hope. "Fear is not a sustainable answer. We have to live our lives very differently," he added.

The average number of new cases for the past seven days was 151 compared to the previous week when the average was 120 new cases per day.

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the intensive care unit remained stable at six. Patients with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 made up 5 percent of the 282 intensive care beds.

The number of confirmed cases in the hospital had increased over the past five weeks, and 50 patients were hospitalized as of Wednesday night, up from 40 the previous week.

Anne O’Connor, HSE's Chief Operations Officer, noted a significant increase in health care activities.

At the same time, the waiting lists for planned care, outpatients, inpatients, day care centers and activities within the scope of the application area were further increased.

The waiting list for outpatient appointments had risen to 611,000 outpatients.

The number of waiting areas had grown to 36,000. While the number began to decline, it still only happened at 50 percent of the previous activity rate, with employees being particularly challenged in this Covid-19 environment.

valerie.ryan@imt.ie

Paul Reid Photo: Brian MacCormaic