Pressure grows on ICU as Covid hits record Galway high

There are now no Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds available for the most seriously ill patients across Galway’s two biggest hospitals – as the number of people infected with Covid-19 reaches the same heights as the worst peak since the pandemic began.

The latest figures from the Health Service Executive (HSE) on Wednesday show there were eleven general beds available, excluding ICU beds, to take patients in the two city hospitals and just one available in Portiuncula.

But there were no ICU beds available in University Hospital Galway or Merlin Park and just one in the Ballinasloe facility. There were three patients confirmed with the virus being cared for in the city ICU and two in Portiuncula.

Galway University Hospitals (GUH) are currently treating 20 patients with Covid – down from 26 last Wednesday – while Portiuncula has eleven confirmed cases.

A Saolta spokesperson told the Connacht Tribune that all hospitals in the Saolta Group, including Galway University Hospitals, have plans in place to respond to an increase in the volume of Covid-19 cases and an increased demand for hospital care as a result.

“These surge plans include redeploying staff and changing the use of inpatient beds, for example dedicating wards for patients with Covid-19 or turning theatre recovery space into additional ICU beds.”

Nationally there were 279 ICU beds currently occupied out of 294 open and staffed. Of those 114 were Covid patients.

There were 1,475 confirmed Covid cases recorded in Galway in the seven days until Wednesday, marking the seventh week of increased infections rates.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the online version from www.connachttribune.ie