People in residential care settings during Covid

The Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response (Oct 2020) recommended that a public inquiry be established to investigate and report on all circumstances relating to each individual death from Covid-19 in nursing homes. While the government has pledged to conduct a public inquiry or ‘evaluation’ into the handling of Covid generally, such an enquiry has not yet commenced. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission could also initiate an inquiry if it deemed it necessary and appropriate.

Family members and advocates have reported concerns and potential infringements of the human rights of people living in residential care settings, during the Covid pandemic. These include shortcomings in personal and basic nursing care, where injuries or wounds were missed and so untreated, hygiene including oral hygiene standards slipped, people unable to eat or drink, and other shortfalls in good practice, sometimes amounting to cruel and inhuman behaviour. There were concerns regarding infection control where residents returning from hospital were not tested, or isolated, leading to the spread of Covid in such settings. There was often a lack of communication with family members, misleading information supplied, and/or inadequate communication facilitated between residents and their families.

When a person leaves their home to live in a residential care setting in ordinary circumstances, there can be a risk of disruption to their existing social networks, resulting in increased isolation and or loneliness, which can affect the health and well-being of the individual, while at the same time the new setting frequently offers new opportunities for social engagement. For people in such settings during the Covid pandemic, the situation was particularly complex, complicated by the restrictions imposed by institutions, the HSE and the government as well as staff shortages due to illness and infection. The isolation in illness and death during Covid has been widely experienced and reported. Families await the outcome of any government or IHREC inquiry, as well as in certain cases, a coroner’s inquest into the particular circumstances of the death of their family member and loved one.

Please contact Muriel by emailing muriel@mulligansolicitors.ie or phone Muriel at 01 6373946 if you require further information or advice in relation to these issues.