I was into the pharmacy in a small nearby town to get more Solpa-sinus and it was packed with people buying flu medications,
Minister for Health, Simon Harris, has held an emergency meeting with HSE chiefs where he was told that half of all admissions at the country’s A&E rooms are down to the flu
www.irishmirror.ie
Irish hospitals at breaking point after unexpected early arrival of killer flu season
Minister for Health, Simon Harris, has held an emergency meeting with HSE chiefs where he was told that half of all admissions at the country’s A&E rooms are down to the flu
Hospitals are creaking at the seams with the unexpected early arrival of the full-blown flu season.
The flu has already claimed the lives of 18 people so far this year – and some experts fear the death toll could hit 100.
Trolley numbers are up 11 per cent on this time last year, with hospitals already operating at breaking point.
The flu has come four weeks early and it is heaping the pressure on the system to cope with the increased influx of patients.
Anne O’Connor, the HSE’s Chief Operations Officer, said: “We know that the flu has come early – the peak has come we think.”
The peak is normally some weeks off and it is difficult for hard-working doctors and nurses to cope with the full flu onslaught during the holiday season.
Minister for Health, Simon Harris, has held an emergency meeting with HSE chiefs where he was told that half of all admissions at the country’s A&E rooms are down to the flu.
He was made aware that peak flu season is here already.
The Minister said that he wanted to thank all of the healthcare staff who diligently go to work every day at Christmas time and around the New Year when most regular workers are off.
Mr Harris told reporters after his meeting: “It’s very clear the flu has arrived a lot earlier this year, in fact, it’s even exceeded the peak level it in 2018 reached at this stage already.
“It looks like it’s come a lot earlier and therefore it’s likely to peak a lot earlier.
“We would hope over the coming weeks that we would begin to see flu levels reduce in our country.
“But there’s no doubt that this is going to put significant pressure on our health service and I want to thank our frontline healthcare staff right across the country in our hospitals, our community settings, our social care settings, our GPs, our pharmacists, everyone who is working today.
“And indeed, everyone who has been working right throughout the Christmas period to provide excellent care to people who are sick.”
The Minister then went on to outline how bad things are already with this year’s flu strain.
“I think we’re seeing up to 50 per cent of people in our Emergency Departments today with the flu or flu-like symptoms, so obviously that puts a significant pressure – in terms of trying to find isolation spaces.”
Dr Kevin Kelleher, HSE assistant national director for public health, said he expected the number of deaths directly related to the flu to reach 100 in the coming weeks.
But he said many people who died after being admitted to hospital with the flu had other underlying conditions.
“So they will die from pneumonia, they will die from their heart disease or something else, and that figure longer term is normally around 300 or 400 in total.”
The health service has issued more batches of the flu vaccine than any other year, with the number of healthcare workers receiving the vaccinations markedly up, Dr Kelleher said.
Health officials advised people with flu-like symptoms to isolate themselves and stay at home to treat the illness where possible.
More than 26,900 patients attended emergency departments in the week ending on 17 December, a 7.5% increase on last year according to HSE figures.
The flu season in Ireland runs from October to May and the peak flu season is expected to last another five weeks before things calm down again to some reasonable level of business in our hospitals.
www.cdc.gov
