Outbreak in care home

A nursing home on the outskirts of Cork city is dealing with what it described as a significant outbreak of Covid-19.

CareChoice in Ballynoe said it’s the first outbreak its residents and staff have experienced since the pandemic began. It follows a number of other outbreaks in Cork nursing homes.

A spokesperson for CareChoice said the home is liaising with the HSE and will continue to closely follow all HSE and WHO Covid-19 protocols as it has done since March.

The spokesperson said: “We continue to care for our residents and staff to the best of our ability. Our staff who have tested positive are currently self-isolating and we are supporting them as best we can. We have been able to draw on the resources of the CareChoice nursing homes group to fully staff the nursing home in Ballynoe, and we have also been able to deploy additional senior nursing management to assist.”

The spokesperson moved to assure residents and their families that the Ballynoe home is fully staffed and has adequate PPE in place and that it has full GP support and continues to care for the residents.

“In the interests of the confidentiality of our residents and their families, we will not be supplying numbers of Covid-19 positive tests,” said the spokesperson.

"Tragically this virus has taken some residents and our we offer our sincere condolences to their families. Similarly, in the interests of the confidentiality of our residents and their families, we will not be supplying numbers of deaths at Ballynoe related to Covid-19, but we offer our sincere condolences to families who have been affected, and we know how difficult this time has been for our residents, their families and our staff,” they said.

The spokesperson concluded: “These events also take an emotional toll on staff. We would particularly like to thank all of our dedicated staff for their unstinting care and commitment to our residents throughout the pandemic, in Ballynoe and in all of our nursing homes, and we would also like to thank our residents’ family members for their support and understanding, particularly in relation to ongoing visiting restrictions which we understand are extremely hard on everyone in our care.”

Meanwhile, a healthcare worker at the Carechoice nursing home has written a letter to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly asking that she be allowed to remain in Cork after testing positive for Covid-19.

The care worker had been staying at the Kingsley Hotel with other frontline health staff in accommodation provided by the HSE. However, after testing positive for the virus, she claims she was told she had to leave the hotel immediately and travel to Dublin to stay at the City West Hotel.

In the letter the healthcare worker said she is self-isolating in her room in the Kingsley Hotel and that she is too unwell to make the trip to the capital.

“I understand you are so busy with the pandemic but is there any way I can isolate in the Kingsley hotel for the ten days? It doesn't make sense to move accommodation at this time and put a transporting provider at additional risk,” the letter reads.

She added that, as healthcare workers, she and her colleagues have gone “above and beyond” for the residents at the nursing home, often working 24 hour shifts.

Workers’ Party Cllr Ted Tynan said he was aware of the letter sent to the health minister describing it as a “frightening” read. “I was taken aback when I read it,” he said.

He added: “It doesn’t make sense to have just one hotel for all of the Covid-19 positive frontline workers in the country located in Dublin. This woman can’t go home as she will infect those she lives with and she isn’t well enough to take a car or public transport up to Dublin. I’m calling on the Minister for Health to set a centre up in the south for our frontline workers who test positive for the virus.”

A Cork Kerry Community Healthcare spokesperson explained that the HSE provides a temporary accommodation scheme for healthcare workers affected by Covid-19.

They said: “This service is not available for healthcare workers who need to self-isolate.”

Temporary staff accommodation is provided at several locations across Cork and Kerry.

The self-isolation facility at City West is a safe place for people who cannot self-isolate at home, the spokesperson said. “To be admitted to the self-isolation facility, a person needs a referral from a hospital, GP, contact tracing team or other appropriate healthcare professional.

“Once someone’s referral is accepted by the admissions team at City West, that person generally arranges their own transportation to the facility. However in circumstances where this is not feasible, support can be provided. The need and demand for self-isolation facilities is kept under constant review. The available facilities for self-isolation currently meets demand,” concluded the spokesperson.