Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have several questions regarding nursing homes. They have been, sadly, the epicentre of deaths as a result of Covid-19. At the beginning of this health crisis, the decision was taken by the HSE to clear hospitals of older people and transfer them to nursing homes in anticipation of the surge of Covid-19 patients. This was deemed by the HSE "as a necessary risk". I believe, however, that this was deemed "a necessary risk" solely to avoid bed blocking in our hospitals.

I would like to know what measures were taken to assess the risk posed by these transfers to older people already residing in nursing homes. Will the Minister direct the HSE to publish the risk assessment which deemed this transfer of patients to nursing homes a so-called "necessary risk"? I asked the Minister's Department, via a parliamentary question, for the publication of this risk assessment more than two weeks ago. The response I received referred to the fourth revision of the discharge guidelines and not the original version, which was entirely focused on getting people out of hospitals.

My fear is that no risk assessment of the impact on nursing home residents was carried out before the decision was taken to move patients from hospitals to nursing homes and, as a result, the proper protections for nursing home residents were not put in place. Some of those discharges, sadly, became the vector for the spread of Covid-19 in those nursing homes.

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