Nursing homes are warning that families may not be able to visit their loved ones this Christmas if coronavirus figures are not brought under control.

The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan last night said he is “increasingly concerned” over the latest coronavirus figures.

He said the positive trends we have seen   in the weeks since Level Five restrictions were put in place “have not been maintained” and we now have two weeks to hit out targets for exiting lockdown on December 1st.

The five-day average of daily cases has increased from 350 last week to 424 last night; however, the 14-day average now stands at 121 cases per 100,000 people – the third lowest in Europe.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Nursing Homes Ireland CEO Tadhg Daly he hopes to see finalised guidelines for Christmas visits in the coming days.

“Our view is we need to explore all of the options in terms of safe visits but clearly the rise in community transmission is a very worrying development over the last while and we are concerned that may impact plans to facilitate safe visits over Christmas,” he said.

He said it is “difficult to say at this point in time” whether children will be allowed to visit their grandparents.

“We will be guided by public health advice and, in general, the advice up to now has been that […] visits to high-risk areas is very, very challenging,” he said.

“We are looking at visitor areas for example, where families can come, maybe not physically into the building, and likewise residents don’t have to leave the building.”

Christmas

He said Christmas is a special time for families; however, the number one priority will be to ensure the safety and welfare of all residents and staff.

“Clearly families do want to see their family member over Christmas,” he said.

“It may be a case of maybe a key visitor but we do need public health guidance and public health support.

“Obviously, it will be scheduled visitors. It won’t be like Christmas of old in any of our houses and nursing homes will be no different, unfortunately.”

Inspection reports

Mr Daly was speaking after HIQA inspection reports at 30 nursing homes outlined how devastating the pandemic has been for many in recent months.

The reports highlighted staffing challenges and a lack of contingency planning at many nursing home – with evidence of non-compliance with regulations at 20 out of 30 facilities inspected.

Mr Daly said the struggles nursing homes went through during the first wave of the virus are well-documented but insisted the reports capture the “heroism of the staff right across the sector.”

“It was a very challenging time and it does leave a mark I can assure you for staff and providers right across the country,” he said.

“Despite all the challenges, what is captured in many of the inspection reports by HIQA , is that the staff worked might and main and that was really appreciated by the residents themselves and it was gratifying at some level to see that captured in the reports.”

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