Results 9,601-9,620 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I welcome this opportunity to update the special committee on Ireland's ongoing response to Covid-19. The committee heard earlier today from the HSE, the acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Glynn, and Professor Nolan about Ireland's operational response to Covid-19 and the prevalence of the virus in our country at this time. I will take this time, therefore, to update the committee on...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy Cullinane. Can I give the Deputy the critical care capacity first? The HSE and the clinicians are strongly focused on the figures for surge capacity for Covid-19. As we know, before Covid-19 arrived the critical care bed capacity in our system was 255 beds. This is 204 intensive care beds in ICU and an additional 51 high dependency unit beds, HDU. At the height of the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The winter plan is the process by which the HSE is doing the detail-----

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The winter plan is the process by which the HSE is doing the detailed modelling on that. The reason-----

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The reason there is no figure today is that we are learning very quickly about this. On the Deputy's question, when he and I learned about this first, the figure we were both given was that the hospitals could not operate at more than 80%. That was based on a variety of advices from the HPSC, including the 2 m distancing. Over the last weeks and through the next few weeks a lot of detailed...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, I did.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: What I am saying is-----

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The HSE has approximately 11,000 beds, 20% of which is approximately 2,200. What I am telling the Deputy-----

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: What I am telling the Deputy-----

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The 80% figure is an old figure that does not apply. For example, occupancy in the acute system at present is approximately 96%.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Deputy read out that the HSE has 11,000 beds and we need to move from about 100% occupancy, which is unfortunately where we were, to about 80% occupancy. That would require about 2,200 additional beds. What I am saying to the Deputy is that, thanks to an awful lot of good work at every hospital and by central HSE working with the HPSC, the additional number of required beds has reduced...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The challenge is wider because it is not just acute beds; it is primary care, community care, inpatients and outpatients. This is exactly what the winter plan seeks to do. It is being produced several months early, it will be the most comprehensive winter plan that has ever been launched and, because of the costings involved, as I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, it will not be cheap....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I do, so let me outline some of the steps that are already being taken. The following are all Covid measures. Home care packages have been increased by 2.6 million hours and community assessment hubs have been introduced, with 29 teams. The number of acute hospital beds has been increased by 400 this year to deal with the additional capacity, and I am seeking funding to ensure that all 400...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: First, I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Cullinane on the winter plan. The challenge we are facing cannot be underestimated and, as he pointed out, there is a real reduction in capacity in the public system. I look forward to engaging with him and the Oireachtas on that plan. I will send the Deputy a detailed briefing on front-line workers but my priority regarding nurses is that we...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I will get the committee a detailed briefing on that, Chairman.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I am sure that will be no problem at all.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: In terms of the measures that are in place, I listed several of them for Deputy Cullinane earlier but will provide a full list of the measures that are already in place. In terms of the private hospitals a €25 million bridging fund has been created and the HSE is using private hospital facilities right now, right across the system, based on medical priority. Tenders have issued from...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for her questions. I will cover as many as I can and will get written responses for the Deputy if we do not get to them all. With regard to testing and tracing, it is a key weapon in our arsenal. We rank well by international standards. The HSE has been ramping up very significantly. We had approximately 52,000 tests or thereabouts last week. One of the days last week...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy Durkan. The Deputy's first question, understandably, relates to what happened in Kildare and the reason for so many cases so quickly. The advice I have is that it is a combination of factors, including high-risk workplaces in terms of Covid. That is the experience in Ireland. Nearly half of the workplace clusters to date, before this happened, had been in meat processing...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes.