Almost 400 cases of hospital acquired Covid recorded in south of the country this year

Almost 400 cases of hospital-acquired Covid-19 infections have been reported by South/South West Hospital Group (S/SWHG) this year.

That’s according to new figures published by the HSE which detail the volume of hospital-acquired Covid-19 infections reported since June of 2020.

According to the HSE, 789 cases of hospital-acquired Covid-19 were reported nationally from June 21 to December 27.

Data for the year to date (from December 28) shows 1,972 hospital-acquired Covid-19 infections have been reported nationally.

A breakdown of the figures for 2021 shows 395 cases were reported in the S/SWHG. The group is composed of a number of hospitals in Cork namely; Cork University Hospital, Cork University Maternity Hospital, Mercy University Hospital, South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, Bantry General Hospital and Mallow General Hospital, in addition to University Hospital Waterford, University Hospital Kerry, South Tipperary General Hospital and Lourdes Orthopaedic Hospital Kilcreene.

Speaking at the HSE’s weekly briefing today (Thursday), Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer with the HSE highlighted how the number of hospital-acquired Covid-19 infections increased sharply during the third wave, with the total number of infections in January alone nearly double the total number of infections in 2020.

He noted that almost 500 cases of hospital-acquired Covid-19 infections were reported nationally during the week ending January 17, however, he said there has been a "sharp fall in hospital-acquired Covid" which now stands at less than 50.

Dr Henry said the fall was "related in some part to the impact of vaccination in this setting."