# Residents of nursing homes not allowed home for Christmas



## SGWidow (24 Dec 2020)

Two questions:

1. Is this documented anywhere?

2. When was the decision made?


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## RedOnion (24 Dec 2020)

Covid-19: Nursing homes residents advised to avoid external visits this Christmas
					

‘Significant risk’ of unwitting introduction’ of virus into care homes from visitors, Minister for Health warns




					www.irishtimes.com


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## SGWidow (24 Dec 2020)

Hi RedOnion,

When I googled earlier, this is pretty much all I got also.

1. I mean officially documented - HSE, Gov.ie, etc.,

2. I have been cocooning for the last 2 weeks in advance of taking my dad out for Christmas Day. It has all that he's been talking about for the last two months.

3. I was advised last night - repeat last night - by the NH that my dad could not come home - due to updated guidelines.

The purpose of my post is to understand what new guidelines were issued, if any.

I accept the decision. I'd just like to understand the guidance that it was based on. It was presented to me as a mandatory obligation (on the NH) rather than a decision of the NH to follow advice.


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## RedOnion (24 Dec 2020)

@SGWidow

Apologies if the earlier link was unhelpful.

All HPSC guidance to long term care facilities is available here, but should be read together with the Plan for living with Covid.





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						Residential Care Facilities - Health Protection Surveillance Centre
					






					www.hpsc.ie
				




I think the issue is that the current guidance is any resident would need to isolate within the Nursing Home on return for a period of 2 weeks.


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## Clamball (26 Dec 2020)

Yes, I was talking to someone who works in a hospice yesterday.   She was telling me residents who went home for Christmas, even just for dinner were required to self isolate for 2 weeks on return.   Staff would also be required to wear full PPE any time they went into the residents room to deliver care, gown, goggles, mask, gloves, the full lot.  So they recommended strongly to families not to take the residents out.  

 She said it is heart breaking for the families and residents.   And that they are not as full as they normally are because of restrictions on families.   They allow one family member to visit daily and then other close family members can visit once per week.  She said Christmas Eve she spoke to one very distressed relative.  His Dad was dying and he visited daily but he had several children who could only see their grandad once per week which was so upsetting to them to say the least.


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## Grizzly (20 Jan 2021)

We have had a huge number of deaths from Covid since Christmas.  We are told that the high number of people testing positive was caused by a meet up of families over the Christmas period.
If most of these recent deaths occurred in nursing homes.....how did the chain of transmission go from family meet ups at home to nursing homes?


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## Leo (20 Jan 2021)

Grizzly said:


> how did the chain of transmission go from family meet ups at home to nursing homes?



Do you have a source to the breakdown of deaths?

Under the lower restrictions, nursing home residents were allowed trips out to spend time with their families. The minister for health advised patients not to undertake such trips in mid-December, but you can be sure many did for Christmas.


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## Grizzly (20 Jan 2021)

Leo said:


> but you can be sure many did for Christmas.


It would be interesting to know how many undertook such trips and does this account for the high numbers of deaths in nursing homes as a result.

I don't have a breakdown of deaths in nursing homes.  I would imagine that there are a lot of people regretting making these trips now.


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## john luc (21 Jan 2021)

Not sure how many did as my Mother is in a care home and nobody was allowed to leave over the christmas.


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