Stephen  Donnelly said that analysis of the hospital systems in the Southern Hemisphere had shown that this winter could see impacts from respiratory viruses, influenza and other issues.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says he is "very concerned" about a potential "perfect storm" hitting Irish hospitals this winter.

Mr Donnelly was responding to a call by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) to publish a fully funded winter plan to coincide with the publication of the Budget in two weeks. 

The INMO said that 596 patients are without a bed in Irish hospitals today, including more than 20 children under the age of 16.

It is now 16 years since former health minister Mary Harney called the trolley situation in Irish hospitals “a national emergency” and pledged to find solutions, but patient delays have continued to increase.

The INMO trolley watch figures show patients attending Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Limerick again face the longest queues with 68 people on trolleys in each.

Mr Donnelly said that analysis of the hospital systems in the Southern Hemisphere had shown that this winter could see impacts from respiratory viruses, influenza and other issues.

"I'm very concerned about what's coming. We're watching the Southern Hemisphere countries very carefully. If you look at places like Australia and New Zealand, where we look to see what might be coming, they've been dealing with a perfect storm — dealing with Covid and dealing with the indirect effects of Covid which actually are as big. 

"They've been dealing with RSV. They've had a very difficult flu season and they've had other respiratory diseases as well.

"So we have a very comprehensive winter plan that is being finalised at the moment. The HSE and the Department are working on what we would all recognise as a winter plan including things like flu vaccines and beds and GP access to diagnostics and emergency department resources."

The INMO has called for urgent funding and the publication of the Winter Plan to prevent another winter where operations will be cancelled due to overcrowding. INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said this week so far has seen over 1,710 patients left in this situation.

“We are facing into yet another completely predictable winter crisis unless urgent action is taken,” she said.

“The number of children under the age of sixteen on trolleys has been steadily increasing this month, with over 91 young patients without a bed since the beginning of September.” 

Mr Donnelly said that a Covid winter plan, taking in ventilation, therapeutics, vaccines, public health advice and other measures was being drawn up and the overall winter plan will form part of the Department of Health's budget submission. He said that he had recently sanctioned 50 extra emergency medicine consultants and the Department had "increased our resourcing at emergency departments for healthcare assistants for emergency medicine, nurses and more".

He said that the Government's approach was to "maximise prevention". He said that a specialist team sent to UHL had improved the situation at that hospital's emergency department and these teams would be sent to other hospitals.

The Emergency Department Taskforce, a group including unions, the HSE, the Department of Health and patient representatives, will meet on Monday.

Ms Ní Sheaghdha added: “Practical solutions and measures that arise from this meeting must be implemented immediately in order to prevent this entirely predictable surge,” she said.

“Over the coming months, we cannot see any obstruction when it comes to recruitment and retention measures. Nursing and midwifery vacancies need to be filled so that patients get the care they need.” 

The INMO's trolley watch figures also now show even smaller hospitals which do not have emergency departments are facing overcrowding problems. There were four people on trolleys in Bantry hospital, two people in Nenagh and one in Ennis on Wednesday morning.

The figures also highlight the pressures on large regional hospitals which often offer specialised trauma care as well as being the only centre for a wide range of other treatments. There were 56 people on trolleys in Sligo University Hospital, 60 in Galway, 47 in Letterkenny.

Read More400 people die each year due to long A&E waits

Sign up to to get the latest news direct to your inbox daily at 1pm

Let Me Tell You is a new bespoke podcast series from 

Hosts Daniel McConnell and Paul Hosford take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments in recent Irish political history from the unique perspective of one of the key players involved.

Bespoke political podcast series from

© Irish Examiner Ltd, Linn Dubh, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 523712.