Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1679. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he will initiate a formal audit of nursing home mortality since the beginning of the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out in both private and public nursing homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15102/21]
View answerIn 2020, in the early stages of the pandemic, a once off census of mortality in older peoples services, disability and mental health facilities was conducted, which indicated that deaths in settings such as Older Peoples Services were being reported promptly and comprehensively through the standard process of reporting deaths to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
As of February 2020, under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2020, all medical practitioners are required to notify the Medical Officer of Health in the HSE of certain diseases, including Covid-19.
The case definition for COVID-19 in Ireland has been updated routinely during the pandemic, in accordance with European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) guidance and updates.
Deaths related to COVID-19 are classified as follows:
- Deaths in confirmed COVID-19 case: A death in a person with laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 infection, irrespective of clinical signs and symptoms (including post mortem).
- Deaths in probable COVID-19 case: A death in a person with probable COVID-19 infection as described in the COVID-19 case definition.
- Deaths in possible/suspect COVID-19 case: See below scenarios for possible/suspect cases which should be reported as COVID-19 deaths.
- All deaths in patients suspected of having COVID-19 i.e. patients with symptoms clinically compatible with COVID-19 illness. These suspect cases may or may not have been tested for COVID-19 prior to death. These possible COVID-19 deaths include patients with pending COVID-19 laboratory results.
- All unexplained deaths/sudden deaths in residential facilities with a confirmed/suspected COVID-19 cluster/outbreak of illness unless there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be related to COVID-19 disease (e.g. trauma).
Finally, nursing home providers are required to notify the Chief Inspector of HIQA, the independent regulator, about unexpected deaths in their services. These notifications, along with all relevant statutory notifications to the Chief Inspector, are assessed and risk-rated to determine if any regulatory actions are required. These notifications are an important component of the ongoing regulatory oversight of nursing home.
