Mr. Liam Woods:

The peak from April last year was about 5,700 as I recall, of which about half were in the hospital system with the balance in the community sector. We have now exceeded that. The Deputy asked about the implications and where the tipping point is. At the moment we have over 500 beds vacant in the hospital system which is primarily associated with staffing. As Dr. Hamilton said, we have also moved staff to support ICU and we have stopped non-urgent elective procedures and outpatient services. The system is focused on the core emergency flow and dealing with Covid.

As Dr. Glynn mentioned, subject to the current positive trend in reducing numbers of cases, although they are still very high, we think the service pressure as a result of patients with Covid in hospitals is peaking around now. The ICU peak may still be a week ahead; there is always a lag in the ICU pressure. We think we are very close to peak demand if the public measures remain in place. I acknowledge we are also at a point where what is being asked of staff is truly exceptional given the workload that is currently being undertaken.