Dozens of empty hospital beds are lying idle in military hospitals while the country battles a hospital overcrowding crisis that is seeing hundreds of sick people lying on trolleys every night.
This is despite the Government spending hundreds of thousands of euro retooling some facilities at the start of Covid in a panic move to prepare them for reopening.
One of these was St Bricin’s in Dublin city centre, which is just a stone’s throw from the Mater hospital in Dublin 7.
Read More : Irish nurses threaten strike action over hospital overcrowding
Last night, Dr Cathal Berry, independent TD and former Head of the Military Medical school with the Defence Forces, slammed the waste of spare resources in military units.
He believes that at least two wards in St Bricin’s and four more in the Curragh could be easily reopened, at least for step down services, at very short notice.
He told the Mirror: “The HSE paid about half a million euro upgrading fire, lighting and oxygen systems in St Bricin’s in April/May 2020 in a panic when Covid first struck.
“They planned to use it as a step down/overflow facility if things got really bad in the Mater/St James’s.
“Now it’s just lying idle.
“St Bricin’s even had its own X-Ray and Ultrasound Department up until three years ago when it was stripped out by the Department of Defence.
“There has been absolutely no accountability for these outrageous decisions.
“Now troops have to attend the Mater for these diagnostics, placing even more pressure on an already overwhelmed public health system.”
Mr Berry added: “The medical services of the Defence Forces have been stripped bare.
“If you or I wanted to prepare for something unexpected that might happen to our house or property, we’d get insurance.
“But the Government or the health service can’t get insurance, so what other countries do is they have their defence forces as insurance.
“Our Defence Forces should be the national resilience that the State can rely on in a State of Emergency that we see in many areas, including health.
“Unfortunately, the decision to shut down three military hospitals and let go dozens of nurses 20 years ago has now left us exposed.
“It’s a shocking waste that these health facilities are lying idle.
“Aneasthetists and other doctors have told me that wards could easily be reopened for step down services.
“I am calling for the Minister for Health (Stephen Donnelly) and the Minister for Defence (Micheál Martin) to intervene and release the vital capacity available at short notice.”
A spokeswoman for the Defence Forces said: "St Bricin's military hospital is not closed down. It is still a functioning medical facility for Defence Forces outpatients.
"However there is no 24 hour nursing staff in St Bricin's hospital to provide adequate cover.
"The Defence Forces and the medical corps stand ready to support the HSE if requested. This has been demonstrated throughout the response to the covid - 19 pandemic as well as our ongoing assistance to the National Ambulance Service."
A spokesman for the HSE said: “To help support the health services over the winter period, the HSE has provided additional funding to Hospital Groups and CHOs to allow them access private beds in both private hospitals and private nursing homes.
“Currently there are 188 private hospital beds available to hospitals for use for clinically appropriate patients and the HSE is working to increase the number of available private hospital beds.
“There are approximately 140 patients currently receiving care in private hospitals as part of this arrangement.
“Separately, the HSE is also working to increase the number of hospital contracted private nursing home beds.
“These enable patients to be discharged from our acute hospitals.
“Hospitals have contracted 40 private nursing home beds and this number is expected to increase further next week.
“In addition to these arrangements, as part of this year’s winter plan, the HSE provided funding for an additional 623 private nursing home beds in the community (these are separate and additional to the HSE’s Nursing Home Support Scheme).
“These beds are taking pressure off the public hospital system during the current situation by being used for patients who are ready to be discharged from hospital or patients who don’t need to be admitted to hospital but do need some additional care.”
READ NEXT:
Tommy Tiernan tells how he lost his mother to suicide in 2010
Ex-Ireland footballer Anthony Stokes charged over dangerous driving incident
RTE viewers hail 'brave' Greg O'Shea after Late Late Show appearance
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
