Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020
108. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Health the engagement he has had with his Northern Irish counterpart in relation to ICU capacity; if Covid-19 patients from Northern Ireland have been transferred to hospitals here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33470/20]
View answerA Memorandum of Understanding was formally agreed by the Chief Medical Officers of the Department of Health and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on 7 April 2020. This built on the long-standing cooperation and collaboration between health authorities and across the health systems in Ireland North and South and strengthened that cooperation in relation to the public health response to COVID-19.
The Memorandum has formalised and underpinned the significant engagement between Ministers, Chief Medical Officers, Departments and other health agencies throughout this pandemic. It is facilitating greater co-operation and consistency of approach wherever possible on areas such as public health messaging, programmes of behavioural change, evidence base/modelling and contact-tracing.
In respect of ICU capacity specifically, senior clinicians have been engaging directly to ensure readiness for mutual support should the need arise, but it is important to emphasise that COVID measures introduced recently on both sides of the border are intended to “flatten the curve” and thus avoid the need for such arrangements.
