Extra beds for St Luke’s and support from a private hospital in Kilkenny were among the announcements made by the HSE to try and tackle the trolley crisis.
63 extra acute beds are to be made available around the country, including 8 in St Luke’s.
While A number of private hospitals have been identified that can provide support to the public hospital system in the immediate-term including in Kilkenny, Mullingar and Cork.
The Emergency Department Taskforce is due to meet this morning to discuss the overcrowding crisis.
Meanwhile, the HSE and the Department of Health have also renewed their appeal for people in ‘at risk groups’ to get the flu vaccination – especially those aged over 65.
But Kilkenny native, Liam Doran who’s General Secretary of the INMO, says the flu isn’t the only cause of the current crisis.