The HSE can’t legally force staff to take a coronavirus test before joining the frontline fight against the virus.

HSE Chief Operating Officer Anne O’Connor has said the health service continues to encourage all staff to attend for testing when directed; however, it has “never been mandatory” for anyone.

It comes as the number of coronavirus patients in Irish hospitals hits 1,527 – nearly double the peak of the first wave.

There are now 127 people in intensive care with the virus in Ireland.

Meanwhile, the INMO has warned that staffing levels in the health service are “in freefall” with rosters “decimated” by virus-related absences.

    

On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Ms O’Connor said around 3,500 acute hospital staff are out of work because they have tested positive or are close contacts.

“That has very real implications,” she said. “We have between 500 and 600 beds now, everyday, that are unavailable to us because we just can’t staff them and that is a significant number when you look at the overall capacity in our hospital system.”

Testing

She said she personally does not view it as acceptable for a healthcare worker to refuse a test but said the Government can’t legally force anyone to do so.

“We don’t have any legal basis for making it mandatory,” she said. “The only legal basis for anything with infectious diseases relates to public health – but testing is not mandatory, either in the public system or the private system.

“We have seen a very good uptake in general. We know that in some nursing homes, particularly as time has gone on, people have been less keen but we equally have nursing homes that are around 100%

“So, we continue to try and encourage people to take up testing and will continue to work with Nursing Homes Ireland to promote that a well.”

She noted that 80% of Irish nursing homes are privately-run and said it is a matter for management to ensure staff are getting tested.

“In terms of frontline workers, we have not had a problem,” she said. “People are getting tested and they are getting vaccinated.”

Vaccine

Ms O’Connor said 78,000 residents and staff in 556 nursing homes around the country will have been offered the vaccine by Sunday January 23rd.

“By Sunday week, we hope to have nearly all nursing homes as well as some disability units and psychiatry and later life units,” she said.

“From a healthcare worker perspective, we will have fewer healthcare workers this week because we are focusing on nursing homes.

“We are very much limited by supply. We will scale that up as soon as supply becomes available. Unfortunately, we don’t have visibility of that. We have plans in place in terms of rolling this out and certainly what we have seen since the beginning of this rollout has been an overwhelming positivity.

“As soon as we have vaccine, we are in a position to roll it out.”

"Overwhelming desire"

She said frontline health workers have shown an “overwhelming desire” to get the vaccine.

“We have no evidence yet that frontline workers do not want this vaccine,” she said. “It is quite the opposite. Our challenge at the minute is that everybody wants it and that is great.

“Both in terms of receiving it and also administering it – we have everybody putting their hands up to be vaccinators.”

She said the programme will prioritise patient-facing workers, “regardless of their discipline or grade.”

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