Army medics to help battle Covid in Northern Ireland hospitals

Around 100 military medics are being drafted in to ease the pressure caused by the pandemic at Northern Ireland’s busy hospitals.

t comes as Department of Health figures show 40 people died from Covid-19 in the region in the week to Friday. 

The medics are expected to support Belfast City Hospital and the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, while a third hospital may also receive help from specialist combat medical technicians.

Health Minister Robin Swann said he welcomed the military assistance, which had been previously used, as it would “ease the current pressures on our hospitals”.

However, Sinn Féin’s health spokesman Colm Gildernew said the minister could do more.

The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said Northern Ireland was “in the midst of an unprecedented crisis facing the health and social care sector”.

The total number of Covid-19 deaths recorded by the Department of Health authorities stands at 2,533.

As of yesterday, 373 Covid-19 patients were occupying beds throughout Northern Ireland’s hospitals, with 17 intensive care beds available out of 105.

There were also 31 Covid-19 patients in ICU, with 23 being ventilated, while 94 care homes out of 483 had confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Mr Gildernew wants to see more cross-Border cooperation with health authorities in the Republic.

“In my meetings with the minister I have called on him to explore the use of the memorandum of understanding between the two departments across the island,” he said.

“Cross-border healthcare is nothing new — we have been doing this for decades now. As the healthcare crisis continues to intensify, it is something we should do more of. Nothing should be off the table.

“The health and well-being of our population need to be the only motivation at this point.”

Mr Gildernew, who chairs Stormont’s health committee, said the crisis in the health and social sector preceded Covid-19, “though it has been exacerbated by the pandemic”.

“For example, we know that we have fewer hospital beds today than we did in 2009 — almost 1,600 beds have been lost across the North,” he said.

“Tory austerity cuts have had a hugely damaging impact on the ability of the health service to tackle the pandemic and provide other essential services.”

It emerged last month that 1,800 nursing positions were vacant, including 1,471 for registered general nurses, 38 learning disability roles, 168 jobs in mental health, 67 in paediatrics and 79 roles in the district.

Mr Gildernew has urged Mr Swann to pull together a health summit “as soon as possible so that the myriad challenges endangering the healthcare system can begin to be understood by everyone and to be addressed adequately”.

“This request is outstanding, but I am hopeful the minister will respond soon,” he added.

Dr Michael McKenna, a GP in West Belfast, has said he is concerned about the pressure on the health service in Northern Ireland.

“From a primary care perspective, it’s busier than it has ever been. The number of people contacting us is up between 20pc and 25pc from this time last year,” he said.

“It’s not Covid-19 they are concerned about, it’s mental health problems, access to hospital services and appointments. They are even phoning about social issues and housing issues.”

Dr McKenna said an increase in “viral illness” is also having an impact on services.

“We are seeing things we haven’t seen in a long time, such as viral illness which is coming out of the woodwork, and as such, people are more likely to call you in case it might be Covid-19,” he said.

The GP said the general public “have an expectation” that the health service can operate normally, but “this is away above what can actually be delivered”.

“At some stage, there is going to have to be a serious conversation about what the health service here can do for you,” he said.

Separately, figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), which is part of the Department of Finance, show 59 deaths involving Covid-19 occurred in the past week to Friday.

They also show that, to date, 2,300 Covid deaths took place in hospital, 827 in care homes, 14 in hospices and 253 at residential or other places.