Michael McNamara TD has slammed the government for failing to significantly expand the country’s ICU capacity in over a year since the pandemic began.
The Independent Clare TD made the remarks yesterday in the Dáil during leader’s
questions.
Michael McNamara on the government's insistence on putting all their eggs in the vaccine basket, while failing to make any significant improvements to the country's ICU capacity. #Covid19Ireland pic.twitter.com/evpA5fqt5L
— JRD (@JRD0000) July 7, 2021
“Taoiseach, we in Ireland, along with much of Europe imported the idea of lockdowns from China,” he said.
“But in China, they also built hospitals in 14 days in response to COVID-19. The HSE’s capacity census last year showed that ICU capacity in Ireland increased from 255 to 280 in the nine months from April to December.
“At the end of last year, Minister Donnelly announced that we were going to increase capacity to 446 – 321 by the end of this year. However, to date this year, we have increased capacity by only nine beds. Taoiseach, I’d like you to explain what we are doing about increasing hospital capacity.”
The Deputy went on to explain that ICU capacity being under pressure was not a reason to threaten lockdown, as ICU units are generally under pressure even during a normal year.
“Your Táinaiste announced earlier this week that our hospitals are under pressure,” he said.
“I don’t remember a time when they weren’t. ICUs operate generally to capacity, and you rarely have a time like now when 40 ICUs are free. Yet we’re being frightened again, that our ICUs are going to come under pressure, and that we’re going to have to endure more restrictions and potentially more lockdowns. But what are we doing about increasing capacity?”
Deputy McNamara went on to hit out at the sluggish pace with which the country’s ICU capacity has increased over the past year.
“Taoiseach, I appreciate that you can’t develop ICU beds overnight and it takes time. But we’re not talking about 14 days like China. We’re now more than 14 months into this. And progress is slow.
“On Monday last, there were 278 people on trolleys in hospitals in Ireland, 63 of them in Limerick. This Monday, there were 293 people on trolleys across this country. 60 of them in Limerick.
“Now, we know that that sort of overcrowding is a recipe for disaster in the event that there is another wave of COVID. And if we look to other countries like Israel, for example, where the success of the vaccine rollout was lauded, there has been another wave, and there will be more and more waves.
As cases rise in Israel, the Health Ministry will look into the option of shortening the number of quarantine days in an attempt to increase public cooperation with isolation requirementshttps://t.co/qlOo00eSG9
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) July 7, 2021
“But all I hear is that we’re putting all our eggs in the vaccination basket. And we’re doing apparently very little to develop our healthcare capacity.”