Damning report criticises State response to threat posed by Covid-19 in nursing homes
THE State’s response to Covid19 at the start of the pandemic failed to recognise the threat posed by the virus to nursing home residents.
The Dáil’s Special Committee on Covid-19 Response also found that a “silo-type” approach in relation to nursing homes “did nothing to prevent the spread of the disease.”
The damning findings are included in the committee’s final report, which recommends that a public inquiry be set up to investigate each of the almost 1,000 deaths that occurred in nursing homes.
The report also criticised the meat-processing sector – which also saw clusters of the virus – and proposed an Oireachtas inquiry into the industry.
In his commentary, committee chairman Michael McNamara, an Independent TD for Clare, said there were “more answers needed” on the deaths in nursing homes.
Mr McNamara said that unless the State learned from all of the analysis on the pandemic “the many sacrifices will have been in vain, as will the too-many heartbreaking deaths”.
The committee’s major recommendation is for a public inquiry into deaths in nursing homes. The report said that despite devoting more time to the issue of nursing homes than to any other, the committee was “unable to get satisfactory answers as to why 985 residents of nursing homes died after they contracted Covid-19”.
The committee examined reports by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) and an expert panel on nursing homes. It said these reports “highlight a silo-type approach on behalf of the State that certainly did nothing to prevent the spread of the disease.”
Among key issues identified were an over-focus on preparing acute hospitals for the pandemic and a failure to recognise the level of risk posed to those in nursing homes.
It also said there were delays in reacting to the deteriorating situation in nursing homes, especially in providing supports like replacement staff and personal protective equipment).
There are unanswered questions as to why some nursing homes were free of Covid-19 whereas others were severely affected. The committee said a failure to provide answers to the relatives of those who died “exacerbated their pain and suffering”.
The committee recommended a public inquiry that would investigate and report on all circumstances of each individual death from Covid19 in nursing homes.
The report said that the actions taken by the Government and public health authorities “cannot be examined in the light of what we now know about Covid-19, its transmission and treatment, but instead must be examined in the light of what was known, or ought to have been known, at the time when such measures were taken”.
On Covid-19 testing, the committee recommended that the State develop a system that has a turnaround time that doesn’t exceed 24 hours.
The committee found that meat-processing plants were a significant hotspot for Covid19 infections.
The report stated that while meat processing is highly regulated regarding food safety and hygiene, “the same level of regulation and protection is not extended to workers and their conditions of employment.”
The committee recommended an Oireachtas ‘Inquire, Record and Report Inquiry’ into the operation of the industry.