MUSIC IS REPUTABLY good for the soul but it might be less beneficial for the body as new research found numbers attending a hospital emergency department rose almost 10% while the local town was hosting the annual Fleadh Cheoil.

A study by staff at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar recorded a 9.4% increase in visits to its emergency department over normal attendance levels during the two-week period that the Fleadh was staged in the Westmeath town in 2023.

In particular, the study recorded more than a threefold increase in the number of patients attending the emergency department who tested positive for Covid-19 during the event.

All patients who attended the hospital with respiratory symptoms such as coughing or a shortness of breath, or a fever were tested for Covid-19.

It is estimated that 600,000 people attended the Fleadh last year over the nine-day period that Mullingar hosted the world’s largest Irish traditional music festival.

A total of 1,949 visits were recorded at the hospital’s emergency department during the two weeks encompassing the Fleadh in August 2023 compared to 1,781 for the previous two weeks and 1,773 over the following two weeks.

The average number of Covid-10 cases logged among patients in the emergency department was 10 per week prior to the Fleadh but the average increased to 35.5 cases per week for the weeks during and after the music festival.

Researchers said the level of increase in Covid-19 cases over the period was “statistically significant.”

They added: “It is well recognised that mass gathering events lead to a rise in communicable diseases with respiratory being the most common.”

The study entitled “Craic, Ceoil agus Covid-19”, which is published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science, claims to be the first assessment of the impact of mass gathering events in an Irish setting on the emergency department of a local hospital.

It noted that Westmeath County Council had put a robust event management plan in place to negate any possible effects on the hospital’s emergency department.

They included a public education campaign which stressed safety messages about the use of drugs and alcohol as well as having a large number of first responders from the National Ambulance Service and the Order of Malta attending the Fleadh.

The local authority had also signposted alternative medical care pathways other than the emergency department at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar.

The study said the number of people attending the emergency department who needed medical assistance during the Fleadh was probably just “the tip of the iceberg” as there was no data about numbers attending private medical facilities.

The authors of the report said the research would play an important role in informing health service preparation for future host towns of the Fleadh.

They claimed the robust event management plan and emphasis on first responders delivering medical care at the festival in Mullingar kept pressure off the hospital’s emergency department.

“We would strongly advise future hosts to invest in a similar plan,” they added.