The State health watchdog has published a new set of guidelines nursing homes must follow to ensure they are prepared for a COVID-19 outbreak.
HIQA will begin inspecting nursing homes next week to ensure the guidelines are being followed.
Almost 60% of Ireland’s virus-related deaths are linked to nursing homes and residential care settings.
Self-assessment
Under the new guidelines, management will now have to show that they are prepared for an outbreak and have contingency plans in place.
They must show that they are fully aware of the State resources that have been put in place to support residents and staff in preparing for and managing an outbreak
They will also need to demonstrate the efforts they have made to access specialist clinical advice on providing safe care.
They will have to show inspectors what they have been doing to ensure the centre is a safe place for their residents.
Each facility will be required to undertake a self-assessment of their service to ensure they are following guidelines properly.
On-site inspection
They will have to provide the assessment to the HIQA inspectors when they arrive on-site.
The inspectors will have their temperature taken before entering a facility and will not enter areas occupied by residents.
They will also have to make a declaration to the manager of the facility that they have no symptoms.
They will make sure all guidelines are being followed and that PPE is being used properly.
Cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in 40% of the nursing homes in the country.
Testing of staff in every home in the country began over the weekend and remains a priority for health officials.
The HSE is prioritising three groups for test:
- Staff and residents in any institution that has seen an outbreak
- Staff and residents in any centre where there is a new case
- All nursing home staff
