Health « Thurles Information

Parents Drive Son 200km To Avoid Nearby Overcrowded Hospital.

We learn yesterday, from the Irish Examiner newspaper (Reporter Ms Niamh Griffin, Health Correspondent) that a mother, latter residing in the mid-west region drove her sick child, over three hours, to visit an Emergency Department (ED) in order to avoid an overcrowded University Hospital Limerick (UHL), despite latter medical facility being just a 20-minute drive from her place of residence.

The family made the decision to bring her son to Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) in Crumlin, Dublin on St. Stephen’s Day, in order to avoid the mid-western hospital; latter serving North Tipperary and which remains consistently the most overcrowded hospital within the Irish Republic.

The parents informed the Irish Examiner that they had decided to go straight to Crumlin Hospital. They had discussed going to the Regional Hospital in Limerick and waiting for another 12 hours, with their son in pain, before deciding it would be quicker to drive to Dublin. Here, their son was treated within a two hours period of their arrival in Crumlin Hospital.

The Irish Examiner newspaper point out that following the decisions to close Emergency Departments in three of the Midwest Region’s smaller hospitals, UHL is now the only major 24-hour Emergency Department for a population of approximately 400,000 people.

Figures made available by the University Hospitals Group show that some 76,500 people were treated in the UHL Emergency Department last year, an increase from just over 71,000 in 2019.

In comparison, the south/south-west region has two Emergency Department in Cork and one each in Tralee, Waterford and Clonmel.

Ms Mary Fogarty from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has stated that consistently University Hospital Limerick remains the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland. The current situation in UHL’s Emergency Department she has described as unsafe, unsustainable, yet completely avoidable.

The Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (INMO) is once again calling on the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to urgently investigate the overcrowding issues within the hospital and make their recommendations.

Question: What are elected Tipperary politicians, Mr J. Cahill, Mr M. Lowry and Mr A. Kelly; all representing North County Tipperary doing about it?
Answer: “Not a lot”.

16,224 New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed On Irish Mainland Today.

Today, 16,224 new Coronavirus cases confirmed on Irish Mainland; down 854 on yesterday’s reported figures.

In the Irish Republic, the Department of Health has confirmed 12,336 new cases of Covid-19, over the past 24 hours.

Of these confirmed cases, 6,697 were PCR-confirmed, while 5,639 were positive antigen tests, same registered via the HSE portal.

There were 597 patients with the virus being treated in hospital as of 8:00am; a further reduction of 13 on the same time yesterday and of these 66 patients receiving treatment in ICU, up 3 on yesterday’s reported figures.

In Northern Ireland, a further 3,833 cases of the killer virus have been reported today, down from 4,203 on yesterday.

There were 359 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals in Northern Ireland, up from 354 on the same period yesterday, with 12 patients in northern hospital intensive care units; up from 11 reported yesterday.

Sadly, 1 Covid-19-related death has also been reported in Northern Ireland today, bringing their total number of deaths, linked to Covid-19 in the north, since the start of the pandemic to 3,124.

17,078 New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed Today On Irish Mainland.

Today, 17,078 new Coronavirus cases confirmed on Irish Mainland; down 251 on yesterday’s reported figures.

In the Irish Republic, the Department of Health has confirmed 12,875 new cases of Covid-19, over the past 24 hours.
Of these confirmed cases, 6,061 are PCR-confirmed, while 6,814 are positive antigen tests, same registered via the HSE portal.

There were 610 patients with the virus being treated in hospital as of 8:00am, this morning, representing a reduction of 20 cases on the same time yesterday. As of 11:30am, there remained 63 patients with the virus receiving attention in the Republic’s ICUs, down 2 also on the same time yesterday.

This figure compares with 896 cases reported 14 days ago and 708 infections reported 7 days ago.

Today, due to a Covid-19 outbreak; visiting restrictions have been introduced at two inpatient wards in Nenagh General Hospital, latter situated on the R498 at Tyone, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

The wearing of face masks will remain mandatory in several Irish settings until the end of this month, when the rule on mask-wearing will be then be further reviewed by NPHET, with health officials then advising the government on their future need.

In Northern Ireland a further 4,203 cases of coronavirus have been reported within the past 24 hours today, down from 4,769 reported on yesterday.

Today, there were 354 patients with Covid-19 in northern hospitals same figure down 3 on yesterday; with 11 of these patients, diagnosed with the killer virus, in hospital intensive care units, down a further 2 on yesterday.

Sadly, 3 Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported today, bringing the total number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, since the start of the pandemic, to 3,123.

17,329 New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed On Irish Mainland Today.

Today, 17,329 new Coronavirus cases confirmed on Irish Mainland; up 2,089 on yesterday’s reported figures or 4,539 in past 48 hours.

In the words of Sergeant Phil Esterhaus (Late Actor Michael Conrad in the popular TV series “Hill Street Blues”),
“Let’s Be Careful Out There”.

The Department of Health has confirmed 12,560 new cases of Covid-19 in the Irish Republic, over the past 24 hours.
Of these confirmed cases, 5,940 are PCR-confirmed, while 6,620 are positive antigen tests, same registered via the HSE portal.

There remain 630 patients in our Republic’s hospitals, infected with the killer virus, of whom 65 remain in intensive care units across the State.

The Republic’s Department of Health has also confirmed 92 deaths linked to Covid-19, over the past 7 days, bringing the total number of virus-related deaths in the Irish Republic to 6,228.

In Northern Ireland, a further 4,769 cases of coronavirus were reported today, up from 4,622 on Tuesday.

There are 357 patients with Covid-19 confirmed in northern hospitals, up from 337 reported yesterday.

There were 13 patients with Covid-19 in hospital intensive care units, down from 21 reported on yesterday.

Sadly also, 5 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland today, bringing the total number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, since the start of the pandemic, to 3,120.

Today, February 1st, 15,240 New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed On Irish Mainland.

15,240 New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed On Irish Mainland; up 2,450 on yesterday’s reported figures.

Today, February 1st, here in the Irish Republic, over the past 24 hours, 10,618 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed by the Department of Health. Of these, 4,208 are PCR-confirmed, while 6,410 are positive antigen tests registered through the HSE portal.

As of 8:00am, again here in the Republic of Ireland, there were 624 patients with the Covid-19 virus being treated in our hospitals across the State, of whom 66 remain in intensive care units.

In Northern Ireland, another 4,622 cases of coronavirus were reported today, up from 4,159 on Monday.

There were 337 patients with Covid-19 in northern hospitals, down 1 on yesterday, with 21 patients with the killer virus in northern hospital intensive care units, down 2 on yesterday.

Sadly, 4 Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland today.