Over two-hundred-and-sixty staff at hospitals in the Shannonside region were out of work earlier this month on Covid related leave.
According to figures released by the Saolta Hospital Group to Aontu, on the 13th of January - 172 staff were absent due to Covid at Sligo University Hospital - 55 at Portiuncula hospital and 38 at Roscommon University Hospital.
Absentees were unavailable for work due to a variety of factors, including staff who tested positive, they were symptomatic, they were close contacts of a positive case or staff who were cocooning.
Local Roscommon Aontu representative James Hope says the figures show the government's be on call Ireland' database has failed to provide extra staff- despite a reported 70,000 signing up last year
