Nursing home residents are picking up the coronavirus while in hospitals and then testing positive after being transferred back into care homes, the State healthcare regulator recently told the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The transfer of patients from acute hospitals into nursing homes was believed to be one reason behind the spread of the virus into the care facilities during the start of the pandemic in March.
A senior Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) official recently warned the HSE that acute hospitals were again responsible for confirmed cases in nursing homes.
Hospital Report
Finbarr Colfer, Hiqa deputy chief inspector of social services, escalated concerns about the issue to the HSE in a November 19th email.
“There have been a number of incidents where residents who tested negative prior to return from hospital subsequently test positive after being identified as a close contact of a Covid-detected patient in the acute hospital,” he said.
Mr Colfer said stricter procedures were needed around residents returning from hospitals to nursing homes.
While patients were tested for Covid-19 before being admitted and transferred back from hospital, nursing homes were seeking testing seven and 10 days post discharge, he said.
Mr Colfer said several nursing homes were also reporting they were losing staff as a result of HSE recruitment, and that agency staff were not included in recurring testing of nursing home residents and staff.
“Notably staff are leaving the nursing home to join contact-tracing teams. These jobs are offered and staff are advised that they have to take up the post within a week, significantly impacting on the nursing homes,” he said.
“We have been advised that agency staff working lines of duty in a nursing home are not included in serial testing of staff,” he added.
The correspondence between Hiqa and the HSE was released to The Irish Times following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
In a statement, the HSE said it had engaged with private nursing homes since early 2020 to assist them during the pandemic.
“This has been both nationally, through their representative body, Nursing Homes Ireland, and locally through individual providers and the community healthcare organisation network.”
Supports
Supports provided to nursing homes included personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies, infection control advice, help sourcing extra staff, and in some cases direct reassignment of HSE staff into facilities, it said.
“The HSE does not want to deplete any health services employees in the private or public sector and is not targeting staff from nursing homes. The HSE advertises posts in a transparent and open way and candidates who consider they meet the criteria are eligible to apply,” it said.
“The vast majority of HSE recruitment is through local campaigns in hospitals and the community, and also through local and national recruitment by the HSE,” it added.
The roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine to the more than 70,000 residents and staff in nursing homes is to begin on a small scale next week, before ramping up from January 11th.
It is hoped all 580 nursing homes will be covered by two doses of the vaccine by February 28th. However, the HSE has warned possible outbreaks in some nursing homes may delay this timeline.
