Tag Archives: COVID-19

We care more about how people in nursing homes are dying now, than how they were living before Covid-19, says Clodagh Whelan

As the State responds to Covid-19 affecting 30 per cent of Ireland’s nursing homes and Department of Health figures, as of Thursday, showing 245 nursing home residents with the disease have died, social gerontologist Clodagh Whelan writes:

Nursing homes have existed in our communities and cared for our family and friends for many years.

The uncomfortable truth is that we care more about how people in nursing homes are dying now, than how they were living before Covid-19.

Over the past 20 years I have worked with older people and people living with dementia. During my eight years as part of the senior management team of a group of nursing homes, I saw how being under-resourced creates stressed staff and residents.

The lives of the staff and residents are intertwined – they are a family. They share meals, celebrate Christmas and birthdays. They know each other’s stories and struggles and they comfort each other when a member of the family dies.

That family is in trouble now and it’s taken the rest of us a while to notice.

A doctor on television tells us that people are dying in nursing Homes, newspapers are writing about those deaths and radio commentators talk of little else. Suddenly the Twittersphere lights up – we are All in this together.

Are we?

Like the parent away for too long, arriving home laden with gifts, we scramble to donate to charities supporting older people.

We write letters to people who live in nursing homes, celebrate the staff and organise fundraisers. We ask each other ‘how did this happen’? We are angry and motivated to help.

The narrative that places older people as recipients of our benevolent charity sits well. We are comfortable when our anger can be directed outward and we can blame the HSE, the Government, and the private nursing homes.

We are considerably less comfortable with the fact that older people living in nursing homes are human beings who were largely forgotten by all of us until this crisis.

Never before have the airwaves been so full of discussions on the care of older people.

As we, the general public, bask in indignation, we denigrate politicians and take swipes at private providers. We have the benefit of hindsight but are devoid of responsibility.

Yet, at the recent election, how many of us put the resourcing of care for older people on the agenda?

When the canvassers came to your door did you inquire about the resourcing of your local nursing homes? Did you inquire about the values of the National Treatment Purchase Fund or policy decisions that got us here?

So get angry, demand better care, ask the hard questions of the HSE, the Department of Health, HIQA and Nursing Homes Ireland. But ask them of yourself, too.

When this is all over, will you continue to advocate for quality care for older people and campaign for better conditions and supports for those who work in nursing homes?

People who live in nursing homes are human beings with a right to healthcare, though their address has changed their humanity has not.

We can honour their deaths by ensuring older people are never forgotten again.

Clodagh Whelan is a social gerontologist.

Rollingnews

Until you say so.

This morning, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar meets dogs Mist and Max of the K9 search unit at the headquarters of the Civil Defence (Dublin Branch) on Wolfe Tone Quay, Dublin 7.

Oh.

Pic via Daniel McConnell 

Meanwhile…

This morning.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister with responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe visits the headquarters of the Civil Defence (Dublin Branch), where journalists received a briefing on the contribution by Civil Defence volunteers to the Covid-19 response.

Meanwhile…

‘Sup?

Mist plays with its owner Paul Byrne at the event.

Mmmf.

Four pics (above): Rollingnews

UPDATE:

Via Rollingnews

There you go.

More as he gets it.

Related: It’s going to cost taxpayer €50k-a-day to have Dail sit in Convention Centre (Herald.ie)

UDPATE:

 

Yesterday.

Halliday Square, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7.

An afternoon of bingo, music and entertainment in aid of Temple Street Hospital organised by local residents.

Meanwhile…

In fairness.

Pics via Stoneybatter Stay At Home

The Oliver Saint John Gogarty pub in Dublin

This morning.

The Irish Times reports:

The possibility that pubs may not reopen until a vaccine for Covid-19 has been found has been described as a “nightmare scenario” by the body that represents Dublin publicans.

The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) said many pubs would be put out of business permanently if such a lengthy closure occurred.

It was commenting after Heineken Ireland put its staff on a four-day week for two months due to the fall-off in demand for its beer products.

…Minister for Health Simon Harris said at the weekend he could not see how people could return to “packed pubs” as long as the virus was still in the community and in the absence of a vaccine.

Hic.

Most pubs will ‘close for good’ if lockdown lasts to 2021, vintners say (The Irish Times)

Rollingnews

UPDATE:

On Today with Seán O’Rourke this morning…

Noel Anderson, managing director of Lemon & Duke and vice-chairman of Licensed Vintners’ Association told Mr O’Rourke:

“All our staff, and we’re delighted for them, are currently being looked after to a point. They’re getting the €350 payment a week. But businesses haven’t been really looked after yet, in my opinion.

“And in certain areas, we’ve been left high and dry. So we feel like we’ve done our bit and we will get to where we need to be but we’re gonna need grants.

“Nobody needs a loan. Rates is currently being deferred. You’re only making the problem worse for when you open, so we’re going to need grants not loans. And then when we do open, we’re going to need massive tax assistance.”

Mr Anderson added:

“I would like to see the Government work with us a little bit better. I was pretty disappointed to read in a Sunday newspaper what was said…like, let’s sit down and have a chat about what social distancing looks like, what financial assistance looks like. Let’s not be reading it over our Cornflakes.”

Listen back in full here

This morning.

Further to an article in The Irish Examiner on Wednesday, in which it was reported that a “small number of TDs” had “raised the question of new allowances to allow them to purchase office equipment while they work from home” during the Covid-19 restrictions…

Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne tweeted:

“Contrary to some media reports, TDs did not seek a Working from Home Allowance. I did not believe that any would. The overwhelming majority of politicians in all parties and none are genuine and certainly not in politics for financial gain.”

Hmm.

Related: TDs seek allowance for working from home (Irish Examiner)

Previously: Wednesday’s Papers

St Mary’s Hospital in Phoenix Park, Dublin where 11 residents have died, ten of whom who tested positive for Covid-19 and one who is suspected to have had it

Earlier today.

On RTE’s Today with Seán O’Rourke.

Mr O’Rourke spoke to Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond, Labour Senator Rebecca Moynihan, Irish Daily Mail and Sunday Times columnist Brenda Power, and Irish Examiner special correspondent Mick Clifford during the show’s The Gathering slot.

They were discussing Covid-19-related deaths in Irish nursing homes, of which there have been 253 to date, when some of the panelists had this exchange.

[There have been 486 Covid-19-related deaths recorded to date]

Seán O’Rourke: “Brenda Power, do you agree with the suggestion that the authorities where, the nursing homes were considered certainly, may have taken their eye off the ball? Just because they were concentrating on the acute hospitals?”

Brenda Power: “Although, you know, for a start, I do know from friends who have parents and so on in nursing homes, they did, a lot of them did take action quite early on before there was any obligation on them to do so, to restrict visiting and so on. So, I do think it’s unfair to blame the staff or to point the finger in any way at the staff of the nursing homes.

“I was talking to a GP friend of mine, asking, you know, how come the attrition rate is so high. Well, first of all, you’re talking about a very vulnerable cohort which, of course, you could say, well it should have been foreseen.

“But, also, you know, they fall, they get sick, they break hips, they have to go into the general hospitals and they were bringing back the virus with them before anybody knew how widespread it was. So, you know, yes, of course, we’re playing catch-up. But, god Seán, in so many areas, in regard to this, this, these unprecedented times, we’re doing the best we can. We really are.

“And I mean I wonder if, I do wonder if whether the numbers, losing their lives in the nursing homes, is in particularly stark contrast to the relatively small numbers dying in the communities, compared to say the UK, Wales and Scotland included. You know, I think it may look an awful lot worse. And, plus, I think we’re being more honest about them to be honest.

“Because I think it’s emerging that the numbers in the North, for instance, that they’re not releasing the correct numbers or there might be a bit of massaging of figures of the people dying in nursing homes going on.”

Later

O’Rourke: “Brenda Power, the other thing is that we’ve seen the coroners say that they need to maybe be a bit more rigorous in identifying Covid-related deaths to that, as opposed to maybe having, putting on the [death] certs respiratory issues or whatever.”

Power: “Yeah, well, I mean, again, I’d be reluctant to categorise that as any attempt at fudge or cover-up. I believe they have up to three months, for a start, to certify a cause of death.

“And, secondly, I would say it’s probably the case that people are dying with Covid-19, in some cases, and maybe not necessarily of it. So it may be, it may be a case of semantics in some instances.

“Again, I’m reluctant to go down the line of assuming that there’s any attempt to… fudge…”

O’Rourke: “No, no, that’s not being suggested. But there maybe needs to be a bit of rigour, the way, about the way this thing is being approached. What would you say to that, Mick Clifford?”

Michael Clifford: “Yeah, I suppose there could be, Seán. But I would tend to agree with that, that you know, you are dealing with a scenario whereby an awful lot of these people have underlying conditions, unfortunately.

“And the reality is that, unfortunately, is that life expectancy for a number of them would not be great. And therefore, along comes this, and in some instances, it’s not recorded specifically like this.

“I mean, I don’t think there’s an underhand attempt to cover it up or anything but you are dealing with a pretty chaotic situation as we can see. Particularly, we’ve seen a couple of [nursing] homes in Dublin and Portlaoise, for instance, where you’ve large numbers of people losing their lives. And I can understand why, in that scenario, there could be some shortcomings in that regard.”

O’Rourke: “And I suppose…”

Power: “Seán, can I just say…”

O’Rourke: “Yes, Brenda…”

Power: “…before we terrorise people, you know, let’s remember that 70 per cent of nursing homes have no virus, they’re free of the virus. I know it’s desperately worrying for the people in the 30 per cent bracket but that’s still quite an impressive statistic in the circumstances.”

Listen back in full here

Related: Coronavirus kills 11 residents over two weeks in Dublin care home for the elderly (The Irish Times)

Previously: The Reporting Of Deaths

Counting ‘Every Death’ That ‘Involves A Positive COVID-19 Test’

Rollingnews

Fianna Fáil TD Stephen Donnelly in the Dáil yesterday afternoon

Yesterday afternoon.

As the Minister for Health Simon Harris answered questions from TDs about the State’s response to Covid-19, Fianna Fáil TD Stephen Donnelly raised another health matter.

After asking Covid-19-specific questions, Mr Donnelly also told Mr Harris:

“I wish to raise the issue of the non-Covid-19 fatality rate. New analysis shows that non-Covid-19 fatalities in March and April are up considerably on previous years.

“This might be happening for many reasons, but I am concerned that we have empty private hospitals. Doctors are telling me about empty operating theatres. Many surgeons and their teams who want to treat people must essentially sit on their hands.”

Mr Harris answered Mr Donnelly’s Covid-19-related questions but did not respond to Mr Donnelly’s point about non-Covid-19 fatality rate, after Mr Donnelly interrupted Mr Harris to tell him that he was sharing his time with his Fianna Fáil colleague Mary Butler.

Meanwhile, last night on RTÉ’s Ireland On Call…

It was reported that there has been a 50 per cent drop in the number of child patients presenting at the Children’s Hospital in Crumlin since the outbreak of Covid-19 – even though the hospital has separate non-Covid-19 emergency departments.

In addition, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist Prof Aengus O’Marcaigh told Katie Hannon:

“We’ve noticed over the past four weeks that there’s been a significant reduction in the number of new cases of children with serious malignant diseases coming in. We feel it’s related to the Covid and it may well be in some part due to a reluctance on the part of parents or carers to bring children in.

“So what the message I want to get across is that if you’re worried about your child, please bring them in.”

Dáil transcript via Oireachtas.ie

Watch RTÉ’s Ireland’s On Call in full here