The health service must wait for ‘later waves’ of viruses

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The executive director of the Health Service Executive has told Oireachtas’ Special Covid-19 Response Committee that even if a vaccine is developed, Ireland will face the virus for a long time.

Paul Reid said the country must adapt its way of life through a combination of behavioral, social and health care changes.

He also warned that the health service must wait and plan for the next waves of Covid-19.

He told politicians that a “community first” approach will be critical to providing safe, efficient and effective services during the winter months.

Mr. Reid also said that all flu vaccine shipments are expected to be delivered before the end of October and that sufficient doses have been secured to vaccinate all at-risk groups.

He warned that a difficult winter season, added to the resurgence of Covid-19, is the worst possible scenario for health services.

Mr. Reid told the committee that the HSE is meeting all the demand for testing and that Ireland is one of the few countries that automatically tests close contacts for positive Covid-19 cases.

The HSE is also looking for additional equipment, including the use of robots to increase home testing capacity and response times, it will also say.

Reid warned that hospital admissions are increasing, with 108 patients admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 and 17 confirmed cases in the ICU.

He also noted that the profile of patients that has characterized the resurgence of the disease has been lower, but he will say this will change unless community transmission is controlled.

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Mr. Reid explained that the HSE made sure over the summer that it had the capacity to perform 100,000 tests per week. You are modeling future demand and it depends on the performance of the virus.

He said capacity in the labs would increase if the virus continues to function as it is.

The CEO was responding to Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane, who asked why there were no targets regarding response times or how many tests should be done per week in the Living with Covid plan.

Reid cautioned that while the number of hospitalizations is lower at the moment compared to the peak of the virus, the impacts remain “very significant.”

He said some wards are being “frozen” and must be isolated, adding that a small number of cases can have a “significant impact.”

Reid said the HSE aims to restore services and regain elective care as possible by running a dual system to try to protect people against Covid-19 and raise other services to a level where they should be.

The CEO said that the healthcare service is seeing a growing trend of healthcare workers becoming infected with Covid-19.

Reid said there is a growing trend of staff absenteeism due to coronavirus-related issues and that the service needs to guard against this.

Duncan Smith of Labor asked what the HSE is going to do about the rules about couples not allowed to enter maternity hospitals.

Mr. Reid said this is done in an individual hospital and clinical judgments must be made.

He said it is a “heartbreaking” moment for some people who cannot have their loved ones with them.

The executive director said that HSE has worked closely with schools and that 90% of test results for Covid-19 are back within 24 hours.

He said the positivity rate is currently around 1.9%, adding that it was being watched “very closely.”

Mr. Reid was responding to Jennifer Carroll MacNeill of Fine Gael, who said that testing and tracking had not been fast enough in schools.

Anne O’Connor, HSE’s chief operating officer, said a lot of work has gone into ensuring that people are further separated in healthcare settings.

She told the committee that there are challenges in some settings and that the executive is working with the Health Information and Quality Authority regarding multi-occupancy spaces.

Ms. O’Connor was responding to Colm Burke of Fine Gael, who asked about the number of HSE senior care units where there were rooms of more than six residents.

Mr. Reid said the HSE has seen “worrisome issues” arise in relation to mental health issues and stress since the pandemic began.

The executive director said that blockades or severe restrictions are not good for health services, society must be open and the economy must function.

HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry said such restrictions caused secondary harm in relation to mental health and secondary disease presentation.

He said services were reopening and HSE was trying to keep the virus suppressed.

Dr. Henry was responding to Jim O’Callaghan of Fianna Fáil, who asked if the HSE had any concerns about the mental and physical health that the pandemic was having on young people.

He asked if too much attention had been paid to a public health problem.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will appear before the committee tomorrow morning.



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