Care home tests should be completed on entry

Everyone entering care homes should be tested for Covid-19 according to recommendations from a new report.

The work by the Stormont Health Committee suggests care home workers should be tested daily and anyone travelling between different care homes tested before entry to every home.

It was published on Monday after a committee inquiry into coronavirus in care homes across Northern Ireland.

It heard about 40% of those who died with coronavirus in Northern Ireland last year were care home residents, according to Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency figures.

As of October 2020 there were 16,110 registered care home beds across 434 independent homes and 48 that are publicly owned and operated.

MLAs heard from senior health service officials including chief nursing officer Charlotte McArdle and chief social worker Sean Holland, as well as care home staff and relatives of residents.

Committee chairman Colm Gildernew said workforce shortages and funding issues brought the wider question of adult social care reform into sharp focus.

"It comes as no surprise that Covid-19 put an extra strain on the care sector's funding, with additional costs for staffing, cleaning, PPE and support for visiting,'' he said.

"We are keen to see processes streamlined and made more flexible, enabling care homes to meet their own particular needs.

"We were also struck by the impact that visiting restrictions had on the physical and mental wellbeing of those living in care homes, the importance of ensuring meaningful contact and the limits of virtual visiting for those with sensory or cognitive impairment.''

Mr Gildernew told the Assembly that 54 recommendations were made.

He described one of the most powerful evidence sessions of the inquiry as hearing from relatives of care home residents.

"They described the traumatic impact of visiting restrictions on the physical and mental wellbeing of their loved ones, the vital importance of ensuring meaningful contact and the limits of technology for those with sensory or cognitive impairment,'' he said.

Mr Gildernew said they were very clear risk "had to be managed'' but also "balanced against the harm caused by isolation as their loved ones approached the end of their lives''.

The committee recommendations included that, subject to rapid testing becoming available, care home workers should be tested daily and also those moving between homes be tested before entry to any home, as well as at least fortnightly testing for residents.

It also recommended testing for all those entering care homes including visitors, care partners, residents returning from an external appointment, and all professionals.

Health Minister Robin Swann thanked the committee for their report and told MLAs that care homes "illustrates more than anything else the tightrope that we have to walk, balancing the quality of life with protecting life''.

"There are undoubtedly lessons to be learned and improvements to be made,'' he told MLAs, as he thanked care home staff for their work.

"I will be considering each of the areas discussed in the report with a view to taking forward appropriate relevant measures suggested within the report.''