Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

574. To ask the Minister for Health if he will consider a submission (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31001/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There are a range of issues raised in the correspondence forwarded by the Deputy. In relation to testing, the HSE has adopted PCR as the gold standard test for diagnosing Covid-19 cases, consistent with international best practice. While it is acknowledged that PCR testing does not offer 100% sensitivity or specificity, it is still regarded internationally as the most effective test currently available. In addition, the Department, the HSE and the NPHET are giving detailed and active consideration to alternative diagnostic approaches, including rapid antigen testing. HIQA recently completed a rapid Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in this regard and its findings will be used to inform the national testing strategy.

In relation to data, while it is possible to distinguish if Covid-19 was determined to be a factor in the cause of death at present, it is not currently possible to break down cases with Covid-19 in hospitals by primary reason for hospitalisation. Work is however underway to enable collection of such data so that in future it should be possible to determine the number of hospital discharges where COVID-19 was the primary reason for the episode of care.

More broadly, as the Deputy will be aware, the Government has published a strategy ‘Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19’ which sets out Ireland’s approach to managing the pandemic for the next 6-9 months. The Plan includes a five-level framework of public health restrictive measures to respond to different stages of prevalence of the virus. However, the Strategy recognises that simple measures taken by everyone are the best defence against this disease and that no single measure works, what matters is the combination.

We are at present in a very concerning position with a rapid deterioration over the last number of weeks in the incidence and severity of disease and Government is therefore considering all available options for bringing the disease back under control.