The health service is preparing for a surge in hospital admissions in January following an increase in Covid-19 and flu cases.
Health Service Executive (HSE) head Stephen Mulvany said significant pressures are expected over the next 14 weeks, particularly on Emergency Departments (EDs).
The increase in Covid cases was described as “relatively modest”, a 5 per cent increase week on week, but a “call to arms” to take appropriate precautions.
The increase in cases has not yet translated into large numbers of hospital admissions, but that could be seen in the coming weeks, Mr Mulvany said.
While Omicron was the most prevalent strain of Covid-19 last Christmas, this year the variants known as BQ1 and BQ1.1 are currently dominant, he added.
Mr Mulvany told a briefing on Thursday: “If we get to a worst-case scenario, we have cause for concern.”
He said while the RSV virus has peaked, Covid and flu cases are on the rise and set to increase further.
“Hospitalised Covid cases increasing in recent weeks, over the last week and even on a daily basis, the numbers rising in our hospitals,” he said, stressing the importance of getting vaccinated.
He said EDs are already very busy, with more than 1.3 million people having attended this year, an increase of 95,000 or 8 per cent on the same period in 2019, and up 15 per cent in terms of the over-75s, who tend to stay longer in hospital.
“All of that points to significant pressure on the system, significant ED congestion, and we know that ED congestion is a symptom of a wider system imbalance,” he said.
He said they are investing substantially, with a winter plan of €160 million and more than 600 extra staff.
“So we’re putting in more beds, more staff and more supports,” he said.
The key message was that the trajectory of Covid and flu cases are increasing, he said, and the health service is “moving to a higher state of an alert for the period post-Christmas and into January so that we can respond to it”.
Eileen Whelan, the HSE's national lead for vaccination, urged those who are eligible to get the jabs.
“The vaccines were the key step in allowing us to get back to socialise and to actually get the economy and get our country back to normal,” she said.
“As people are planning for this Christmas, it’s very different to the two previous Christmases that we’ve had, and while it’s absolutely wonderful that everybody will meet friends and family, it’s really, really important that everybody takes advantage of their booster and get their booster vaccines and get their influenza vaccines. There is still time to do that.
“The best gift you can give to people this Christmas is to ensure that you have got your booster vaccination,” Ms Whelan added.
