The President of the
College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland has told this newspaper he is not
aware of any shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) affecting the
specialty.
The availability of PPE for healthcare workers has
been a constant source of concern from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
HSE CEO Mr Paul Reid recently admitted that 20 per cent of the first batch of
equipment procured from China was not suitable for use in a healthcare setting.
However, speaking exclusively to the Medical Independent (MI) on 7 April, Dr Brian Kinirons, who works as a
Consultant Anaesthesiologist in University Hospital Galway, said
anaesthesiologists currently had sufficient PPE to conduct their duties in
intensive care units.
“I am on the frontline, I’m currently working in a
Covid ICU and I use PPE on a daily basis,” he told MI.
“At a local level, there has been no shortage of PPE.
Again, speaking to a wider community, I’m very conscious of the risks of
exposing our healthcare workers, and I don’t hear voices coming back to me
saying this is a huge problem in individual hospitals.
“I’m very conscious there was a big consignment
recently imported. It was a challenge for the Government because the market is
saturated in terms of demand and getting the material in itself is difficult
and there were concerns, not necessarily about the quantity, but about the
quality of the material. All I can tell you is that there seems to be adequate
PPE at a local level and I haven’t heard any hospital say that they’ve run out
of PPE.”
Anaesthesiology is a high-risk specialty with regard
to Covid-19 as anaesthesiologists are responsible for intubation, which allows
a critically-ill patient to be placed on a ventilator.
The procedure carries the risk of droplet exposure due
to close proximity with the patient’s mouth, while the production of aerosols
of respiratory secretions also carry an increased risk of transmission.
Overall, Dr Kinirons was highly complimentary of the
Irish response to the pandemic, remarking on the “cohesion” between different
parts of the health service.
“I think the HSE and the Department of Health are to
be commended for their actions in relation to Covid-19,” he said.
“I think no healthcare
system is ready for a pandemic and I think at a national level, the HSE has
shown a capacity for decision-making and leadership which has been very, very
positive.”
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