Hospitals have begun opening wards closed during the 10-day nurses' dispute but normal services will not be resumed in many hospitals until Monday.
Thousands of new appointments are being arranged for patients whose treatment was deferred due to the action. Some 70,000 outpatient admissions were postponed, as well as 9,000 elective admissions, according to the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health yesterday confirmed that the £200 million saved by not paying nurses during the strike would remain with health boards. Most hospitals have begun re-introducing services on a phased basis, with medical teams drawing up priority lists and rescheduling admissions and treatment.
The national cancer referral centre at St Luke's Hospital, Dublin, which was was forced to defer more than 512 outpatient appointments during the strike, is advising patients they will be contacted directly with new appointments.
At Limerick Regional Hospital all appointments cancelled over the past two weeks are now being reviewed. Patients will be given new appointments based on medical priority, according to the Mid-Western Health Board. Cork University Hospital said it will take a number of days before its services are back to normal. Scheduled outpatient attendances and elective admissions will not recommence as normal until Monday.
Mallow General Hospital's elective admissions and scheduled outpatient services will also resume as normal from Monday. Services at Tralee General Hospital are back to normal and elective admissions and scheduled outpatient services will resume as normal from Monday.