Nursing home sent request to transfer residents

THE health watchdog warned the HSE that a “strategic approach” would be required to deal with nursing home operators trying to move Covid-19 residents to other facilities, correspondence reveals.

Records released by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) include an email about several “high-risk” nursing homes in need of priority support, including one that was seeking to transfer infected residents out.

“A strategic approach is required as providers will increasingly opt to take this option,” wrote Mary Dunnion, chief inspector of social services in an email sent to the HSE on April 3.

The home is not identified in the redacted correspondence released to the Irish Independent under the Freedom of Information Act. It was noted that six other high-risk facilities were experiencing issues with access to testing, PPE and staffing at the time.

Challenged

“The demands and the ability of some of the sector to respond will become increasingly challenged,” she added. “It is important that we get a joined-up approach to these increasing high-risk centres. Some providers are not equipped to deal with this level of healthcare needs.”

At the time the email was written, there were a total of 38 clusters of Covid-19 infections in the country’s nursing homes, according to HSPC figures.

Separately, in an email forwarded to Hiqa, initially sent to Health Minister Simon Harris and chief medical officer Tony Holohan, one nursing home operator described being in “dire straits” over the alleged lack of support from the State.

By April 12, six lives had been lost at the facility due to Covid-19 and a further 15 residents were ill. “Our staff have been decimated,” continued the email.

Staff shortages had left one nurse dealing with 80 patients during the night shift on occasion, it was claimed.

When the history of Ireland’s pandemic is written, the operator wrote, the failure to adequately support nursing homes would be “the greatest tragedy of the pandemic”.