GPs are again reporting a worrying trend of an increase in people being referred for coronavirus tests as the daily number of cases rose to 646 yesterday amid warnings another surge will curtail next month’s easing of restrictions.
It comes as fears grow that a rise in cases in recent days may be a signal of complacency setting in which could trigger another increase in spread before the Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out to more at-risk groups in the coming weeks.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned yesterday that progress made between now and April 5 will determine what level of loosening of restrictions will be possible from that point.
Almost one million could be on hospital waiting lists by year-end, consultants warn Extra funds allocated for mental health treatment is criticised as ‘grossly inadequate’
Tue, Mar 2, 2021, 09:34 Updated: Tue, Mar 2, 2021, 09:39
Almost a million people could be on waiting lists for hospital care by the end of this year unless the Health Service Executive (HSE) addresses the lack of beds and need for greater recruitment, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has warned.
The consultants’ group warned on Tuesday that public hospitals are on track to suspend more than 900,000 patient appointments by the end of this year when 2020 and 2021 figures are combined and when compared with pre-Covid times.