Audit shows intensive care units near max capacity

James Cox

An audit of the country's intensive care units shows they are operating at near max capacity.

The report also highlights a need for hospitals to prioritise discharges, to free up space for their sickest patients.

Professor Rory Dwyer is the Clinical Lead for the annual Irish National ICU Audit.

Prof Dwyer told Newstalk there are ways to improve things.

"A quarter of patients spent 24 hours in ICU after being cleared for discharge. This is a waste of a valuable resource.

"A bed could have been made available for other patients, instead of being used for somebody who has been judged to be fit for ward care, and we feel there should be a prioritisation. If somebody is fit for discharge from ICU to be prioritised for a bed in a ward when beds become available."