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Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Officials looking at 'creative' ways they could allow nursing home visits again

Dr Holohan said health officials are ‘very sensitive’ to the issue and aware of the impact on the mental health of residents.

HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE looking at ways they could safely allow nursing home residents and their families to reunite in the coming weeks, the Chief Medical Officer has said.

Representatives from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) today told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 that the majority of concerns raised with the authority by nursing home residents over the last two months were about their feelings of isolation and loneliness since the blanket ban on visitors to these care facilities.

Hiqa wrote to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) two weeks ago seeking public health guidance on how to reopen nursing homes to visitors in a safe manner.

This evening CMO Dr Tony Holohan said officials are “very sensitive to the issue”.

“It’s one of the reasons why, if I go back to the beginning, we were reluctant to see a blanket restriction on visiting into facilities, particularly nursing home facilities, which is essentially cutting people off from their loved ones who live in these facilities,” he said. 

Holohan said officials are trying to be “creative” about how visiting in some form may be able to begin again as we move through the phases of easing restrictions.

He said the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is looking at the issue on an ongoing basis to see whether this could be eased during Phase 3, from the end of June.

“We need to look at it not just on its own, or in isolation. We also have recommendations in place around visitation, not to people who are living in nursing homes, but to people who are cocooned at home and who are in the same vulnerable groups being visited by members of their own family,” he said. 

Holohan said they are aware of the “significant mental health and frailty challenges” associated with an extended period of isolation and being cut off from loved ones.

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    Mute Sandra Turner
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    Jun 4th 2017, 7:49 PM

    We both work so qualify for nothing. If one of us didn’t work we would qualify but we wouldn’t need childcare as one of us would be at home with the kids.

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jun 4th 2017, 8:25 PM

    @Sandra Turner: the system is all twisted .. no help out there for those couples who are working and trying to keep afloat. . The cost for child care is crazy and is taking a big chunk out of peoples income and yet those on social can ..

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    Mute Eyepopper
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    Jun 4th 2017, 10:53 PM

    If you dont have a job why the hell cant you look after your kids during the day? Again another ar5e about face policy. Working people, struggling to pay for childcare, see their taxes go to pay for childcare for people who dont work.

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jun 4th 2017, 8:02 PM

    So if you’re on the social , you can avail of the €145 to put your kids into a creche after school and have the day to yourself .. .. makes sense ..

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    Mute ⚡ Seánie ⚡
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    Jun 4th 2017, 7:25 PM

    €80 a month… that should cover a weeks worth of lunches anyway.

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    Mute pat seery
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    Jun 4th 2017, 7:27 PM

    Tulsa are unable to look after Children at present and the Minister is giving them more children Minister are you giving Tulsa more staff if not this is a joke

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