In a normal year in health, there are usually some constants, such as hospital overcrowding, long waiting lists and major funding pressures.
In 2020, these issues did not disappear, but they were pushed down the agenda, as coronavirus dominated events, and occupied much of the time for health staff and officials.
So it makes for 2020 being an outlier year, when making comparisons with other periods in the health service. It seems a long time ago now, but 6 January saw a record for hospital overcrowding, with 760 patients waiting, according to the figures collected by the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation.
Hospital overcrowding has not been solved and remains a big issue to eliminate. The absence of any notable influenza circulating also