Calls to bring back masks
More than 1,000 people admitted to hospital with respiratory illnesses
HOSPITALS are coming under increasing pressure with more than 1,000 people with respiratory illnesses admitted, as numbers near their winter peak, the HSE has said.
An expert in emergency medicine has said masks should be worn by patients with such illnesses, and the healthcare staff treating them, as Spain moves to bring back mandatory mask-wearing for everyone in hospitals.
A HSE spokesman confirmed: ‘Pressure is increasing on the hospitals [with] substantial increases in the numbers of cases of respiratory illnesses and hospitalisations arising from them.’
The cold and icy weather has also caused an increase in emergency department attendances for slips, trips and falls.
New figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre respiratory virus data hub, which includes notified cases and outbreaks of Covid-19, influenza, and RSV, shows that in week one of this year there were 1,628 cases of flu, of which 414 were hospitalised.
This is the highest number of influenza cases and hospitalisations so far this winter season, and nearly double what was recorded in the week preceding Christmas.
During week one of 2024, the health service also recorded 1,200 cases of Covid-19, of which 459 were hospitalised.
This is the highest number of Covid cases seen since the last wave last August.
After several weeks of a decreasing trend, RSV cases increased slightly in week one compared to the previous week, with over 465 cases, of which 147 were hospitalised.
The HPSC said RSV activity peaked in early December and declined throughout the month. ‘This slight increase is usual in early January, following socialisation over the Christmas period and the return to school/child care,’ a HSE spokesman said.
Dr Gerry McCarthy, HSE clinical lead for the National Clinical Programme for Emergency Medicine, confirmed that cases of flu have risen by 92% in a week, and Covid by 77%.
‘We’re seeing the usual rise in infectious diseases a little bit later this year than last year so we’re expecting it to peak in the next week or two,’ he said.
He told RTÉ that the country is experiencing a ‘steady increase in Covid’ of 77% from last week to this.
‘There has also been a 92% increase in flu, but RSV is more stable than that,’ he said.
Spain has reintroduced the mandatory wearing of face masks in hospitals after a spike in flu and Covid cases.
The nationwide mandate by Spain’s central government came into force yesterday to protect healthcare professionals. Dr McCarthy said his personal opinion is that Ireland should also be increasing the wearing of masks at the moment.
He urged people to treat their symptoms at home rather than attending a hospital where possible, but said anyone with respiratory symptoms who did attend an emergency department should wear a mask.
‘If a person comes to hospital with any suggestion of respiratory illness and they’re not already wearing a mask, they certainly [will] be provided with one and all staff dealing with them will be masked up.
‘Many hospitals are deciding off their own bat, based on their local data of what kinds of patients and how many infective illnesses are coming in, to have mandatory mask wearing. There’s no national mandate on it at the moment.’
Meanwhile, further data issued by the HPSC yesterday reveal that during last winter’s flu season, the number of influenza and RSV notifications was the highest on record, with 16,126 flu and 7,559 RSV laboratory confirmed notifications reported.
Dr McCarthy, who is a consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital, also urged people to take precautions during the cold snap, in a bid to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.
To protect healthcare staff