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HSE 'concerned' over high movement levels in community

Updated / Thursday, 25 Feb 2021 22:57
Paul Reid said there would be a significant risk to the healthcare system if 'people were to lose focus now' (Image: Rolling News)
Paul Reid said there would be a significant risk to the healthcare system if 'people were to lose focus now' (Image: Rolling News)

HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid has said while there is "room for optimism" due to the vaccination roll-out, the HSE "remains concerned" at the high level of movement across the community.

Speaking at the HSE's weekly Covid-19 briefing, Mr Reid issued "caution" saying that the public needs to maintain "the level of resilience required to get us out of the wave that we are in". 

"There are out higher levels of movement across society, people going to work, in transit and moving between households".

Mr Reid said there would be a significant risk to the healthcare system if "people were to lose focus now".

"We would be losing it when we are at a base level of the virus that is still a significant risk to all of us, and we know how quickly it can turn an explosive level, particularly if that was to happen at the moment," Mr Reid said.

Mr Reid said that healthcare staff were "absolutely exhausted" at this stage, but they were getting "extra fuel in their tank" in seeing people receive their vaccine.

He said there was still "some way to go" to get hospitals back to safer levels and recommence non-urgent care across the board that has been suspended due to Covid-19.

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Mr Reid said frontline healthcare workers are "exhausted", but he said they are "getting extra fuel in the tank" from the vaccination of healthcare workers and "many of their colleagues returning to work".

Mr Reid said the HSE is "on track to deliver approximately over 100,000 vaccines this week", adding that 359,559 vaccine doses were administered up to 22 February. 

A total of 145,557 were to those in long-term care settings, with 198,037 to frontline healthcare workers and 15,864 to those over 85.

Mr Reid also said there has been an increase in the positivity rate among close contacts over the past seven days, and that the average number of close contacts for the last seven days is 3.3 - with one person recording 38 close contacts.

Mr Reid said the HSE is "on track to deliver approximately over 100,000 vaccines this week".

He said 226,000 of those are dose ones, and 133,325 are second doses.

Regulations have been changed to support both orthodontists and dentists to become part of the vaccination programme, providing extra resourcing and capacity, Mr Reid said.

Also speaking at the briefing, HSE Chief Operating Officer Anne O'Connor said the HSE is dealing with 522 outbreaks.

There are 133 outbreaks in hospitals and 389 in long-term residential care facilities.

She said the challenge for the HSE is that outbreaks remain open for 28 days.

She said there has been a 15% increase in the number of people presenting in Emergency Departments, which she said is 14% lower than the same week last year.

Ms O'Connor told the briefing that there is currently around 350 staff unavailable for work in the nursing home sector as a result of outbreaks.

She said it is "an improving picture" in relation to outbreaks, although it is still at a high number.

She said there is "distinct improvement" in relation to absenteeism, and this week were there were 1,957 staff who were on leave related to the virus - which is a reduction of 604. She said that in the first week in January, it was 4,662.

"So even just within the month, it's a very significant reduction in the number of staff that are unavailable for work related to Covid," she said.

Ms O'Connor also said the HSE "will become very challenged" in trying to catch up on "lost activity", due to the suspension of non-Covid health services.

She said there will be a "challenge" in getting these services back up and running, and then also trying to catch up on the backlog of those who could not be treated due to the impact of Covid-19 on the health system.

HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry told the briefing that Ireland is seeing an ongoing fall in the five-day moving average, although it is "perhaps falling a little bit more slowly" than they would like.

Dr Henry said the 14-day incidence currently stands at 231, down 25% on last week, adding that Ireland is now 20th in Europe in terms of incidence, and is among the fastest improving countries.

He said the incidence is falling in all age groups, with some plateauing in younger adults, and added that there has been "quite a severe drop" in rates of hospital-acquired Covid-19.

Dr Henry said the fall in Covid-19 numbers among hospital staff is "quite significant", citing that the figure had peaked at 2,000 cases in early January, had fallen to 95 last week, and now stands at 50.

"That's a very severe drop", Dr Henry said, "and it's very difficult to attribute that to falling community transmission alone. The most likely explanation is that we're now seeing an early vaccine effect."

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