Dr. Kathleen MacLellan:

I thank the Deputy. The voice of the resident is something we take very seriously. We have already agreed with HIQA, the HSE and the Department that the national care experience survey, which the Deputy knows is conducted annually across acute hospitals, and which has been extended to maternity hospitals this year, will be extended to long-term residential care settings. This will provide a real structured approach to hear the voice of residents within those settings and to have that information used as it is currently used across our acute hospitals to provide quality improvement.

NPHET has published an ethical guidance framework for long-term residential care settings, including nursing homes, which takes into account a human rights approach. The approach has proportionate measures for protecting residents as well as trying to support those residents so they can have as high a quality of life as possible. It is something we will keep a focus on in as much as we can while being very conscious that these are people's homes and where they live, so we must try to open them as much as we can to people's families. We have seen significant innovation across nursing homes to continue contact with families, including the use of FaceTime and other types of technology. We really want to get back, as much as possible, to the type of visiting and supports described by the Deputy.