Nursing homes’ all out virus battle

NURSING homes across the county are maintaining rigorous lockdown measures to protect their residents with strict protocols in place to keep the virus at bay.

Kerry is home to 18 private nursing homes and six HSE run community facilities which between them are home to almost 1,000 people the majority of whom are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.

In recent days much of the focus on the fight against COVID-19 has been placed on nursing homes and other care facilities with news that over 250 COVID-19 clusters have been detected in such sites around the country.

While this has led to considerable concern about the welfare of nursing home residents the sector is generally well prepared and well equipped to deal with any outbreaks.

The HSE metric for a cluster is two patients and according to Nursing Homes Ireland such a cluster can be contained with the right supports.

Private nursing and care homes – of which there are 18 in Kerry – are in a better position to deal with an outbreak or cluster as most of their residents tend to be accommodated in single en-suite rooms.

While the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has begun a census of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and a study of their preparedness for any outbreak the Government has been severely criticised for its slow response to the spread of the virus. A particular concern has been the lack of resources and protective equipment provided. This week the HSE have set up a network of support teams to deal with nursing homes in Cork and Kerry and these include staff from acute hospitals and community settings, including from University Hospital Kerry. All nursing homes have been contacted by the teams and testing at facilities in Kerry have begun following the announcement at t he weekend that all residential centres would be prioritised going forward. This is welcome new according to Cllr Mikey Sheehy (FF) who sits on the HSE Southern Forum and has repeated called for such settings to get priority when it comes to testing.

“Staff and patients should not benefit from more robust and efficient testing and quicker turn-around times in results,” he sad.

Though the Government response to the growing crisis in nursing homes has been slow most of the homes themselves have long had rigorous protection measures in place.

The Kerryman is aware of several that have had visitor restrictions of some form in place since before Christmas. While these were initially introduced to guard residents from seasonal flu outbreaks they have since been greatly intensified to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Under national guidelines care homes across the county are in total lockdown with a complete ban on all visitors; deliveries closely monitored and the public strictly barred from entering even the grounds of the facilities. Close checks are also being maintained on all staff working in the homes. While various homes have differing policies in most staff are screened at least twice daily for temperatures and are asked before, during and at the end of their shift if they have any symptoms. Social distancing measures are maintained and all procedures are reviewed and updated daily and more often if required.

Meanwhile in an effort to keep residents connected with their loved ones most facilities have also invested in IT an to enable virtual visits using Skype, Zoom and similar web services.