Dublin's Mater Hospital says it hopes to resume elective surgery admissions today after up to a dozen hospital beds were freed up yesterday evening.
The hospital had announced that it was refusing to accept new admissions until further notice due to a shortage of community beds to which long-term patients who no longer needed treatment could be moved.
Ms Phil O'Neill, the hospital's patient services manager, said last night that it was still encouraging regular A&E patients to attend their local GPs rather than Mater's casualty unit, in order to ease the crisis.
However, she said: "Things have definitely got better because people have taken the warnings on board and stayed away."
She added the hospital hoped to be able to inform patients awaiting elective treatment that such surgery would resume today.
The crisis had been eased, she said, thanks to the provision by the Northern Area Health Board of a number of beds in step-down facilities, mainly private nursing homes.
A spokesman for the health board said it had secured extra funding for 10 such beds yesterday and "there could be more places provided. But we only have certain resources, and can only afford so many".
The Mater's problems stem from the large number of so-called "bed-blockers" for whom appropriate places in the community cannot be found. Up to 94 such patients, some of whom have been staying at the hospital for more than a year, were residing at the Mater early yesterday. A further 21 had been sleeping on trolleys, a figure reduced to 16 by yesterday afternoon.
Ms O'Neill stressed that the problem had been evident for "quite some considerable time", and had nothing to do with the floods, despite suggestions that some staff members had difficulty commuting to work.
Care Alliance Ireland, which represents a number of voluntary caring organisations, said the situation at the hospital highlighted the urgent need for a comprehensive home support care package. This, said Mr Stan Evans, the group's national development officer, would "give many of these patients what they desire most - to be cared for at home".
He added: "The role of the family carer has never been more important at a time when economic adjustments are restricting services. Family carers throughout the country are offering the most cost-effective form of care and yet they are the silent army. Without them the whole system would come to a halt."
Labour's health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, said the "shutdown" illustrated the potential catastrophe facing hospitals, especially in the greater Dublin area.
"The crisis is likely to worsen further as a result of the Estimates ... and other hospitals may be forced to follow the example of the Mater."
