Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

It depends on what one is measuring. What we measure normally is the hospital occupancy. The hospitals are occupied at a rate that is much higher than the 82% or 83% which is considered safe all year round. The peak does not happen like it used to, whereby there would be a reprieve during the summer. That does not happen. Our trolley count figures are increasing throughout the year but they get increasingly unmanageable in January and February, not so much in December although it is still very high. January and February are months that become extremely difficult in the hospital setting.

In the community, it is important to examine the public health nursing support and the reduction in numbers there. Those nurses tell us that the idea that they would have time to dedicate to geriatric surveillance, which was part and parcel of their role, is gone. They do not have a facility to have waiting lists for their service so each day they must determine what is the priority. They are not getting to massive areas because their numbers are insufficient. That is a very big problem at a time like this when people are cocooning and we are trying to support the elderly to stay at home. That is happening today.