The chair of the of British Medical Association (BMA) in Northern Ireland has warned the health service faces a nightmare over the next few weeks due to a “failure of leadership”.
Dr Tom Black told RTÉ radio’s News at One that “the die is cast” and further restrictions would not make a difference at this stage.
His comments came shortly before a further eight deaths and 510 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the region on Wednesday.
Dr Black said that the BMA was now going “above the politicians” to talk directly to the public to encourage them to restrict their movements and reduce their social contacts.
The public in the North had “given up” because of the “lack of clarity” in decisions taken by political leaders at Stormont, he said.
There was a real fear that doctors in intensive care departments would be asked to make “moral and ethical decisions” for which they were not trained.
Virtually every hospital in the North was coping with ambulances queueing outside with patients for whom there were no beds, added Dr Black.
Help from Republic
When asked if the health service in the North would have to seek assistance from the Republic, he said it was “an inevitable consequence.”
There had been a failure of leadership in the North. Looking to the South, people could see Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin working together and the public responding to calls on restrictions. “That’s where we should have been.”
Anne O'Connor, the HSE’s Chief Operations Officer said that the health service in the Republic was “not in terrible trouble”, but warned that as there was an increase in cases in the community, in a matter of weeks such cases would translate into “issues in our hospitals” and then into critical care.
There was no doubt that the Republic’s health service would be under pressure in January, she said.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster said people needed to take “all and every precaution” when they come together at Christmas.
Health Minister Robin Swann is due to bring proposals for further Covid-19 restrictions to the Stormont executive on Thursday.
It is very clear to me that what we need is to have an intervention
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Mrs Foster said she did not expect Mr Swann to be recommending that new measures be introduced before Christmas, but could not rule out further restrictions after the Christmas relaxations end on December 28th.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the current situation with the pandemic in Northern Ireland as “really worrying”, adding an intervention is needed.
“I think it is totally unacceptable that people are being cared for in the back of ambulances but that shows you our health service is under huge pressure so it is very clear to me that what we need is to have an intervention, what that looks like we will discuss at the Executive tomorrow,” she told media.
Ms O’Neill said she will make the “right decision” around coronavirus restrictions in order to save lives and “not the popular one”.
