Nursing homes must be run “in a different way” after nearly 1,000 elderly residents died since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, an emergency report declared yesterday.
Author Prof Cillian Twomey said: “We must never allow the system to go back to where it was.”
Opposition politicians and advocacy groups have called for urgent reforms to be fast-tracked as the second wave of Covid continues to hammer the country.
Prof Twomey was a member of an independent expert group which has reported back to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, with recommendations to reform the nursing homes sector.
Mr Donnelly said the report shows that “systemic reform is needed,” while he outlined some that he would prioritise in the coming days.
They include ongoing serial testing at private nursing homes, training of staff in infection control and a complete rollout of the flu vaccine.
The minister also wants the special HSE response teams that were established during the pandemic to be kept on, although they would be rebranded as community support teams. In a comprehensive report of over 200 pages, the medical experts retell some harrowing tales of what happened in the wards and rooms of private nursing homes over the past six months.
They include the recollections of a traumatised staff member who suffered depression and felt guilty for the deaths of residents while they were themselves on sick leave, and of one instance where one elderly person saw three people in her unit pass away over one night.
Coronavirus has attacked the elderly in a devastating way, with almost 80% of deaths in this bracket, and nearly 1,000 of the 1,775 total occurring in nursing homes.
There were severe criticisms from across the political divide in recent months when it emerged that huge numbers were dying in the country’s nursing homes.
The previous Health Minister Simon Harris established the expert panel to look into the situation in May and the panel presented their report to Mr Donnelly last night.
He said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging and impactful on those who live in nursing homes, their families and the staff who provide vital services to residents.
“The Expert Panel’s report is significant and provides a range of recommendations to build on and continue the existing supports and public health measures required to protect those who live in nursing homes. The report is also informative in identifying areas of older persons’ service and care delivery requiring consideration for further reform.
“Many of these themes are reflected in the Programme for Government.”
Mervyn Taylor, executive director of Sage Advocacy, a support advocacy service for vulnerable adults, older people and healthcare patients, said he strongly welcomes the report.
He added: “We thank the NHEP [Nursing Homes Expert Panel] for their careful consideration of the many challenging issues brought before them. We support the recommendations set out in the NHEP report that a clinical governance oversight committee should be established in all nursing homes and its inclusion in the regulatory framework should be considered.”
Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said: “As the country stands on the cusp of a second wave of Covid-19, the Government must immediately act on the recommendations of this report to ensure the highest standard of care and statutory clinical oversight at public and private nursing homes.”
