HEALTH Service Executive management in Kerry today issued a message of thanks to the people of the county for their support of staff during the current coronavirus crisis.
Management from Cork Kerry Community Healthcare, the South/South West Hospital Group, the Department of Public Health and the National Ambulance Service said the action taken by the people of Kerry in recent weeks will save lives and it has have given services in the county vital time to prepare.
An area crisis management team with representatives of all HSE services has been meeting several times a week since early February to put in place extensive preparations for the impact of Covid-19 on services.
To date, these preparations have included:
* Increasing bed capacity across the entire healthcare system by refurbishing and reopening buildings in order to provide ICU beds, acute beds, transitional and step-down care.
* Putting in place arrangements to open self-isolation facilities should they be needed.
* Establishing four testing centres across the region.
* Supporting community response forums set up by local authorities.
* Planning to provide community assessment hubs, which will begin to open next week. These facilities will allow members of the public with Covid-19 whose GP has determined they need a medical examination.
*Working with private hospitals to increase bed capacity in the acute hospital system and ensuring critical services continue to be provided.
CEO of the South/South West Hospital Group Gerry O’Dwyer said: “We thank and commend all our staff for their incredible efforts at this time. They have already gone above and beyond the call of duty as our health service faces extraordinary demands”.
Mr O’Dwyer added: “Every effort has been made prior to this virus arriving in Ireland to ensure that we would be as ready as we could be in the circumstances and in the best possible position to protect and safeguard public health.”
“We are working extremely hard to create additional capacity for the health system in the area in the coming weeks and days, and we will update the public as and when plans are confirmed.”
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