Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2020
523. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if under level 3 of the Covid-19 framework all nursing home operators should facilitate an indoor visit once a week for one family member for a duration of up to one hour while also providing window visits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43064/20]
View answer525. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if residents of nursing homes will be able to leave their nursing homes to spend a period of time celebrating Christmas and the New Year with their respective families in their own homes, as in previous years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43066/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 523 and 525 together.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has recently published new public health advice in relation to visiting long-term residential care services. This new guidance outlines an updated definition for ‘critical and compassionate circumstances’, which now provides that residents may be facilitated to receive:
- up to one visit by one person per week under Levels 3 and 4 of the framework of restrictive measures;
- up to one visit per two weeks under Level 5;
It also notes that at all levels of the framework for restrictive measures in the Government’s Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19, every practical effort should be made to accommodate an additional visit on compassionate grounds during the period of major cultural or religious festivals or celebrations of particular significance to the resident, such as the Christmas/New Year period.
An external visit to a private home over Christmas will usually mean meeting quite a few people and it won't be possible to be sure that everyone who comes to the house has been checked for COVID-19 symptoms and is careful about social distancing. As such, there may be significant risk of the unwitting introduction of COVID-19 into nursing homes associated with such external visits, particularly as there may be increased spread of infection in the community at Christmas. During this period, in order to mitigate the risk of ongoing transmission of COVID-19 and the risk COVID-19 may have on vulnerable persons, particularly those in high risk settings such as nursing homes, the overarching public health advice and policy in the context of the current level, Level 3, of the framework for restrictive measures is that residents should not undertake such external visits.
I appreciate that this may be disappointing for some residents and their family members and acknowledge that 2020 has been a most difficult year for families. However, this must be considered in the context of the current rate of transmission and the ongoing risk. The European Centre for Disease Control recently published it latest risk assessment in respect of long-term residential care services. It clearly concluded that the risk related to COVID-19 infection in EU/EEA and UK is currently considered very high for residents of these services.
The current guidance reflects the fact that we are at Level 3 and the risks associated with same. We must be vigilant in ensuring that residents who may be very vulnerable to adverse outcomes as a result of COVID-19 continue to be protected through these public health measures.
I encourage all nursing homes to facilitate visits in line with public health advice and to communicate with family and friends.
Given the importance of facilitating visiting over the Winter period and over Christmas, the Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme (TAPS) has been expanded on a once-off basis to allow a claim of up to €2,500 per eligible nursing home. This will enable them to create additional safe visiting spaces and enhance current visiting spaces.
Enhancement of safe visiting spaces is aligned with the overriding aim of TAPS, which is to support nursing homes in keeping residents safe and reduce the risk of infection and transmission into the nursing home. It is recognised that residents and their families will prioritise visiting over this period and these spaces will provide for these visits to be undertaken in a way that reduces the health and other risks of outdoor visiting on residents and their visitors, who may themselves be older and more vulnerable.
