Bríd Smith TD calls for public inquiry into the handling of Covid-19 in nursing homes
Following the Dáil Covid Committee today questioning of the HSE and HIQA, People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith has called for a public inquiry to be conducted into the handling of the Covid-19 crisis in nursing homes.
She said: “What was witnessed today at the Covid Committee was a game of pass the parcel where each of the witnesses attempted to shift the blame to someone else. Indeed, I believe that this crisis has come about because of political mismanagement and people in power taking their eye off the ball. Our elderly- some of our most vulnerable citizens have been let down in a tragic way, and this has led to a crisis in our nursing homes.
“I am calling for a public inquiry into this catastrophe which will look specifically at the level of medical care available to residents with Covid-19 in nursing homes, the impact of staffing levels on the outbreak and the use by nursing homes of agency staff. The failure to test staff or patients been discharged from acute hospitals also needs to be examined because this is not an academic or historic chapter. We need to rapidly learn lessons, so we don’t repeat these errors if we face another wave of this pandemic.”
