A spike in hospital admissions sparked by the Delta variant of Covid-19 would be an “extreme concern” for the health service, HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said.
Mr Reid said 260 of the country’s 300 intensive care beds are currently occupied, leaving just 40 available ahead of the projected surge.
The Delta variant is soon set to become the dominant strain across Europe, with concerns emerging over a rise in cases and hospital admissions, and is suspected to account for around 70 per cent of new cases in the Republic.
Mr Reid said Irish hospital numbers have returned to levels not seen since before the start of the pandemic in 2019, and any increase could mean a return to cancelling elective procedures and non-Covid care.
He said: “The reality of it is our hospitals are extremely busy right now and understandably so.
“We are very conscious (of the need) to get back to non-Covid care and elective care, as the economy’s opened up.
“We have a lot more attendances and admissions from our emergency department.
“Our hospitals are extremely busy. In fact, our emergency department attendances are now, and have been for the last few weeks, above the equivalent period in 2019, pre-Covid.
“So we are extremely busy and that would be an extreme concern for us, if it was to turn into hospitalisations at a significant level.”
There are 48 people currently hospitalised with Covid-19 in the Republic, up six from Saturday, with 14 people in intensive care.
Speaking on Newstalk, Mr Reid said: “We probably have around 300 (general) beds vacant of a total 11,000 (general) beds across the system, right now today. In terms of preparation for Delta it is a concern for us.
“That’s the reality of the waves. Every wave that we’ve experienced, we come out of each wave, start to catch up and get back elective care.
“But certainly when it comes to surges and impact on hospitalisations, that really impacts on elective care and non-Covid care.”
It comes as more than 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on the island of Ireland on Sunday, with 562 in the Republic — the highest number recorded in one day since early May.
All adults in Ireland could be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 up to a month sooner than expected, Mr Reid also said on Sunday.
