DUBLIN: The shortage of nurses in Ireland has intensified following the spread of COVID-19. Corkman Tadhg Daly, chief executive of Nursing Homes Ireland, confirmed that this has seriously affected the running of the homes.
There are currently 1,800 nursing home staff out of work across the country due to various reasons related to COVID-19. He said there is a shortage of 7,000 staff members across acute hospitals across the country.
“What we have seen is that existing staff are taking on extra shifts and not taking their days off and working extra hours to maintain the standard of care. The single biggest challenge now is staffing,” Tadhg Daly said.
Even Cork University Hospital is also facing a shortage of staff. Efforts are underway to find volunteers to assist in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). Some nursing homes even required intervention of Army. Serial inspections of nursing homes across the country each week put a great deal of stress on employees.
Mr. Daly confirmed that there are currently 160 open outbreaks of COVID-19 in nursing homes across the country. There are 47 outbreaks in residential settings across Cork and Kerry. These include nursing homes, community hospitals, disability centres, and mental health services. Most are in residential centers for the elderly. This includes private nursing homes and community hospitals.
Patient care can only be done properly with the services of qualified people. So finding the services of even retired nurses can be considered, Mr. Daly said. “Obviously, they would have to receive Garda vetting and some training but volunteers could be involved in other roles too, such as catering or laundry,” he said.
Cork Kerry Community Healthcare Chief Officer Michael Fitzgerald said health care staff, nurses and healthcare assistants who are not directly involved in the care of patients should be contacted immediately.
HSE has also begun efforts to recruit nurses, health care workers and support staff at various nursing homes around Co Cork.
Kindly click the link below to join WhatsApp group chat to get important news and breaking news from Irish Samachar