Results 7,581-7,600 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Final Report of Nursing Homes Expert Panel (Resumed) (16 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: I may not use them all. I thank the witnesses for the work they have done over the past six months. It has been a challenging time for everyone. It is important that we work together to resolve outstanding issues and ensure our nursing homes and the care of the elderly are managed in the best possible way. My opening question is on an issue I also raised with HIQA, which was mentioned in...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Final Report of Nursing Homes Expert Panel (Resumed) (16 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: On that point, can our committee have copies of those communications because I have not seen any such written communications at any stage over the past three months from HIQA, the HSE or, indeed, from the Department?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Final Report of Nursing Homes Expert Panel (Resumed) (16 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: I am looking in particular for communications during the period between January and the end of March.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Final Report of Nursing Homes Expert Panel (Resumed) (16 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: I know that there were communications after that period but I am anxious to see the communications in that crucial time period. Perhaps they were submitted but I have no recollection of seeing any particular communications dealing with infection control.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Final Report of Nursing Homes Expert Panel (Resumed) (16 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: The second issue I want to raise was discussed earlier and relates to staff working in more than one nursing home. Was any guidance given to nursing homes or HSE facilities about the challenges that there would be in employing staff coming from another medical facility? Some HSE facilities might have had difficulties in trying to get staff and that may have resulted in staff going from one...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Final Report of Nursing Homes Expert Panel (Resumed) (16 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: I know of one facility with ten people where several staff unfortunately contracted the virus and were unable to turn up to work. It was impossible to replace them. Is a mechanism now in place to deal with such a situation? If an HSE or nursing home facility runs into a major problem with staffing, is a mechanism in place to enable that challenge to be dealt with adequately? In the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Pharmacy Services (15 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: 667. To ask the Minister for Health if a minor ailments service will be instituted in community pharmacies here similar to the system which operates in Northern Ireland in order to alleviate pressure on general practitioners and the health system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23387/20]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: 147. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if students that have taken a gap year from their studies following the leaving certificate 2019 will receive support from his Department in the CAO process to ensure comparability between an unprecedented 2019 and 2020; if there are substantial increases in CAO points in the leaving certificate 2020; and if he will make a statement on the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentation. They might give me written replies to some of the following questions. In its report, HIQA outlined its engagement with nursing homes from 25 March, referring to 2,500 phone calls and so on. Will the witnesses outline the work that was undertaken between 1 January and April 2020? They stated earlier that it was in the second week of April that...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: From 1 January 2020-----

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: -----we have no information.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: Why was it excluded? Why not include it in the information? The report that HIQA published, and even the presentation earlier, referred to what occurred since 13 March. We are anxious to find out what level of engagement there was with nursing homes between the time this issue emerged in Europe and 13 March. We have no information and it has not been presented to us at any stage. I...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: Was there communication with the HSE?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: What was the HSE's response?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: Ms Dunnion might recall that at that period, there was a considerable effort by the HSE to move people out of hospitals. Does Ms Dunnion agree that people were transferred out of hospitals to these facilities?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: I am aware of that, but is HIQA aware of people being transferred out of hospitals into facilities that it highlighted to the HSE as being at risk? Were people transferred to those facilities between 1 February 2020 and the time when the outbreaks started occurring?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: Of the nursing homes that Ms Dunnion stated were under the HSE's control and were not complying with the regulations, how many were identified where patients were transferred to? To put the matter in context, such nursing homes were on the early warning list so surely to God HIQA would have checked what number of patients were being transferred to those facilities. We can look at our...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: Can I get answers in writing to the specific questions I have asked?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: I will return to the assessment framework that was issued on 21 April. If HIQA was planning to deal with this matter as far back as January 2020, why did it take until 21 April? At that stage, there were 194 clusters in nursing homes. Why did HIQA wait until 21 April to send that to nursing homes? How come it was not sent out at an earlier stage? We were then at a stage when 194 clusters...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Examination of HIQA Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Nursing Homes in Ireland (10 Sep 2020)

Colm Burke: Does Ms Dunnion believe that if there was more engagement with private nursing homes by the HSE, HIQA and all the other statutory agencies, many more of the outbreaks that occurred could have been prevented?