Carol Nolan warns of chronic nursing home staff shortages

Teachta, in April I highlighted the fact that without a series of immediate interventions to help alleviate the staffing shortage at our nursing homes, enormous difficulties were going to emerge. A number of nursing homes in my own constituency of Leash-Offaly have contacted me over the last few months over a chronic staff shortage due to staff being out on COVID-19 sick leave and also the fact that some were awaiting test results. This fact undermined the capacity of many nursing homes to operate efficiently. It put huge strain on small numbers of staff who had to work very long shifts and indeed management who were trying to fill shifts and fill the gaps. Taoiseach, I emailed the Minister for Health about this one particular nursing home that was at crisis point in my constituency. I sent that email on 17 April and today I'm still waiting for a response. I sent a copy of that email to six HSE managers in Leash-Offaly and it was only after it was sent a second time that I received a response. I find that absolutely appalling and to me it gives a very strong message that our nursing homes are being abandoned. I do genuinely feel that urgent and decisive action needs to be taken now because those nursing homes are still encountering staff shortages and they do feel ignored. I spoke to a number of managers over the last few weeks and they genuinely feel that they have been left out of this whole plan in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to deal with it. They really do feel aggrieved so I suggest that government and indeed the HSE need to get their act together fairly fast. To date a number of nursing homes as I say still require the assistance and while I do acknowledge the fact that 18 COVID-19 teams were put in place nationally and that 183 nursing homes had contact over the telephone a helpline to help support them and while it is a welcome gesture it's certainly not the solution. Staff on the ground is the only solution in this instance and I do feel that that needs to be done fast. I also want to acknowledge the fact that there were many community groups and volunteers who stepped in and who made sure that PPE equipment was donated to nursing homes. And I know personally that a business in Tullamore contacted me. I delivered some of the PPE equipment myself as did a number of volunteers. Minister, I just feel Taoiseach that that's unacceptable. I feel that there never should have been shortages with PPE equipment. Well I do welcome the fact that there was goodwill in all communities and that everybody put their shoulder to the wheel. I do feel that there were gaping gaps in terms of our nursing homes and there needs to be answers here. And I do hope that there will be a review or investigation into how the whole nursing home situation was dealt with across the state. I acknowledge that there has been a little of progress made, a little progress, but that there are still challenges remaining. And indeed one of these challenges relates to the continuing and troubling difference of opinion between the Chief Medical Officer and the Director of Nursing Homes Ireland. Last week for instance, the Chief Medical Officer categorically stated that visitors did not bring the virus into nursing homes. This was in response to a question on whether appropriate measures were taken quickly enough. In response to this, the Director of Nursing Homes Ireland said, and I quote, I don't know how Dr. Holohan can be so definitive on that, and I would be asking to see epidemiological evidence or study on that. I think that was a fair comment, Taoiseach, and I too would like to see the evidence upon which the CMO felt he could make such a clear and unequivocal statement. The reason why this was a concerning issue to me is that it highlights a growing sense that a certain level of institutional and reputational self-protection is already kicking in. Clearly, there was a major gulf of opinion between the CMO and Nursing Homes Ireland in the earliest phases, particularly with respect to visitor restrictions. I hope that this issue, among many others, will be addressed during the proceedings of the COVID-19 Committee. This has absolutely nothing to do with blame or fault finding, but we have to be constructive and we have to recognise where mistakes were made and ensure that they never are made again. What I do want here is a clear sense that accountability will be obtained without fear or favour, and without a sense that we should always, and in every case, simply give deference to those who are making decisions on public health. I would like to conclude by asking Taoiseach what actions and interventions are being taken currently in regard to addressing the staff level shortage in our nursing homes. I want to state that that is chronic in some nursing homes. And as I say, I would like to have a timeline of the actions that are being taken. Thank you, Deputy McGrath.