Visitor restrictions put in place in Cork hospitals as flu cases double
The Emergency Department at Cork University Hospital is experiencing very high levels of activity with long waiting times for some patients.
Flu cases and hospitalisations in Cork and Kerry have more than doubled, as HSE South West has put visitor restrictions in place at all acute hospitals in Cork and Kerry due to a high number of patients with influenza.
There were 263 influenza cases resulting in 51 hospitalisations in Cork and Kerry last week, up from 117 and 24 the week previous. In the last eight weeks, there have been 645 cases and 114 hospitalisations, according to weekly data from the Health Protection and Surveillance Centre.
HSE South advises that all acute hospitals within this region are experiencing a high number of patients with Influenza. In order to reduce the spread of Influenza in healthcare settings, all HSE hospitals in Cork and Kerry are today introducing visiting restrictions.
One visitor per patient will be allowed during visiting times, and all visitors are asked to wear surgical masks (which will be provided). Visiting times at each hospital will be strictly enforced.
The restrictions apply to Cork University Hospital; University Hospital Kerry; Bantry General Hospital and Mallow General Hospital.
As always, the public are reminded not to visit if you feel in any way unwell – for example a temperature, runny nose, cough or any diarrhoea or vomiting.
These measures will be lifted as soon as possible when clinical circumstances allow. Certain exceptions will be made by contacting ward staff in advance.
HSE South West’s regional director of public health, Dr Anne Sheahan, said: “We are introducing this visitor restrictions in light of the increasing cases of flu circulating. Unfortunately, flu rates in the community continue to increase and we are taking these measures within our hospitals to keep patients safe.”
Dr Sheahan thanked the public for their help in stopping the spread of flu, saying: “It is our strong advice that anyone eligible for their free flu vaccine should get it as soon as possible.
“We continue to see a rapid increase in the number of cases with patients with influenza, and in the number of patients needing to be hospitalised. This presents a risk to those who are susceptible to more severe disease including those aged over 60; those with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women and those who are immunocompromised. Our strong advice to those groups is to get vaccinated now and get the protection they need.”
Speaking today, Dr. Peadar Gilligan, a member of the Consultant Committee of the Irish Medical Organisation, said: “The flu has come early and is accelerating in terms of the number of cases presenting to General Practice and Emergency Departments. There was a doubling of cases over the course of the last two weeks reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
“The number of people hospitalised with influenza is in excess of five hundred currently and is projected to exceed one thousand in the coming weeks. In real terms that means the equivalent of two large hospitals in a system hugely challenged by the lack of hospital beds.
“To date nine people have died from influenza in Ireland this flu season, all but one of whom were over sixty-five years of age.” He also encouraged people to get vaccinated and to avoid contact with others if any symptoms are showing (runny nose, cough, lack of energy etc).
He said: “If you have these symptoms and have to be in contact with others wear a mask, wash your hands regularly and limit the contact time. Not all patients with the flu need to seek medical attention.
“The symptoms tend to last for two weeks. Viruses do not respond to antibiotics and so the treatment is to keep well hydrated with oral fluids, treat the aches and pains with paracetamol and ibuprofen if you are not allergic to them.
“Consider seeking medical attention if you get the flu and are sick with it and are immunocompromised, have a respiratory condition, are obese or if you feel markedly short of breath or are unable to keep hydrated.”
Dr. Gilligan also said that the surge in patients needing hospital beds has again highlighted the shortage of beds in the system here. He said “Irish acute hospitals run at 97% to 110% occupancy due to inadequate capacity in the system to address the health care needs of our population.
“This allows for little or no capacity to deal with any increase in workload. Most Irish acute hospitals, even before the influenza season started, were utilising their surge capacity i.e. sitting in-patients in chairs, managing in-patients on trolleys in day wards, in endoscopy suites, in cardiology day wards, as extra patients on wards and on the corridors of Emergency Departments and wards.
“The rise in patient attendances to Emergency Departments and the associated increased numbers requiring admission to hospital leads to real challenges in providing safe care.
“Before the flu season began we already had ambulances waiting outside Emergency Departments and ambulance crews waiting with patients in Emergency Departments because there was no cubicle space available for them to transfer the patient to. This means that ambulances are not available to deal with the next emergency they are required for.
“The reason for there being no cubicle available in the Emergency Departments is that many of them are occupied by patients who have been admitted but for whom there is no ward bed available.
“Crowding of acute hospitals both in their Emergency Departments and on their wards leads to challenges in reducing the spread of infection. Hospitalised patients are already sick and it is important that they are not exposed to an increased risk of infection when in Emergency Departments and on hospital wards.”
It comes as HSE South West also warned that the Emergency Department at Cork University Hospital is experiencing very high levels of activity with long waiting times for some patients.
With this high number of presentations to the Emergency Department, they asked the public to consider all care options before travelling to the ED - including GPs, pharmacists and SouthDoc out-of-hours services.
A spokesperson explained: “Staff at the CUH ED will prioritise patients in terms of clinical need, and at the moment, wait times for non-urgent care may be lengthy.
“As always, anyone with an urgent or emergency care need should attend the Emergency Department, but anyone with a less serious condition should review all their other options.
“The team at CUH is working incredibly hard at the moment to make sure that those in most need of emergency care receive it as quickly as possible. The public can help the hospital team by considering other trusted health services, such as GPs, SouthDoc, pharmacists, and injury units. As always, people who do require emergency care are encouraged to attend EDs where they will be prioritised.”
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