A SECOND patient has died as a result of the influenza outbreak at St Ita's Hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin. The first patient, an elderly woman, died on St Patrick's Day within a short time of being transferred to Dublin's Beaumont Hospital.
It is understood she had only been in St Ita's for a short period to receive respite care. The second patient who died had also been transferred from St Ita's to Beaumont Hospital with flu-like symptoms. She died there late on Friday night last.
The Health Service Executive, (HSE) which runs St Ita's, yesterday offered its sympathies to the families of the deceased. It explained a number of patients in an old age psychiatry ward at St Ita's developed flu-like symptoms between March 6th and 18th.
"All patients were seen and examined by medical staff. The condition of one respite patient deteriorated on March 16th and she was transferred to Beaumont Hospital. This patient died on March 17th," it said.
In total, eight patients from the ward were transferred to Beaumont over the past week. Two are now dead, two were discharged over the weekend and three were discharged last night. One is still at the hospital, but is understood not to be in a critical condition.
Tests have confirmed they contracted influenza type A. This is the most common form of the virus and is associated with increased rates of hospitalisation and, in very serious cases, death.
The HSE said infection control procedures are now in place at St Ita's and there are no similar cases reported in adjacent wards.
St Ita's was at the centre of a controversy involving older patients some years ago when it emerged an alarming number who were transferred to Leas Cross nursing home were dying within a relatively short period of time.