Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 28 Oct 2020
THE HSE HAS said that the contact tracing system is “back on track” after its capacity was surpassed due to a surge in Covid-19 cases earlier this month.
Speaking the Oireachtas Committee on Health today, National Lead for Testing and Tracing Niamh O’Beirne outlined why almost 2,000 people who received a positive Covid-19 result were told to alert their own close contacts due to a breakdown in its contact tracing system.
O’Beirne said the decision was taken to ensure that each person was informed “as quickly as possible” and to allow them to be “aware of their status and to take action to care for themselves, and protect others from infection”.
“While this was clearly not ideal and we appreciate the impact on those affected, it was deemed to be the only viable option in order to deal with the most recent cases quickly and reset the system,” she said.
“We apologise to the 1,971 people impacted and are this week going to call everyone we missed to check they were able to identify contacts and advise them to be tested.”
She said the decision was taken to “maintain effective turnaround times” for the population at large as the system “struggled with capacity”.
She told politicians that six weeks ago they were making 8,500 calls per week, but that figure had increased in the last week to more than 38,000 calls.
O’Beirne said the contact tracing system was “back on track” since 23 October and that all close contacts were being informed within 24 hours of the notification of a positive case.
She said the HSE plans to recruit up to 800 contact tracers “to ensure that we can address future demand”.
Sinn Fein’s health spokesman David Cullinane criticised the HSE for not recruiting more people over the summer months.
“If we had all of those staff in place it may have well been the case that the system may not have collapsed and you wouldn’t have had to come before the committee today to apologise to those people. So why is that recruitment only happening now?,” he asked.
In response, Ms O’Beirne said over the summer staff deployed for contact tracing had come from universities and other roles in the HSE, and many returned to their own roles.
Consequently, she said they had begun a recruitment campaign in August and they were still in the process of going through applications.
She added it was “unfortunate” that they did not have the staff necessary earlier this month.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin last week told the Dáil that the HSE or Department of Health had not informed him about the backlog with the contact tracing system when it raised, and that he found out through a news article.
It had emerged the previous day that the HSE had asked a group of people to tell their own close contacts of their positive test result and to ask them to arrange a test through their GPs to check their own infection status.
HSE chief Paul Reid apologised last week over the matter.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said that the HSE assured him that the issue of people who test positive being asked to identify and speak to their own close contacts “won’t happen again”.
- With reporting by Press Association
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
its not as if the journal are the ones who wrote and staged the piece the are just reporting on it
No such thing as a bold child these days.
Probably because we have a richer understanding of the mind, instead of the binary good v. bad.
It’s funny how instances of ADHD rise as you travel from west coast USA to East coast, it’s also funny how this trend corresponds to the ownership of games consoles and various technological gear kids are given these days. I’m not saying ADHD does not exist but it’s used to often as a get out Clause.
totally agree with u Gary there is such a thing as a bold child but its easier to say they have adhd rather than just saying their a brat
I don’t know about owning game consoles- my children have wii and ds consoles but the geography speaks volumes…
My Da had a great cure for ADHD. A toe up the hole. Cured me every time.
aka “mammy didn’t give me enough hugs syndrome”
true sometimes children are just bold and being a brat nothing else
adhd is just an excuse 4 parents not to put maners on their kids 4 being bold… no1 wants to tell their kids of anymore..
Jonathan that’s not true- myself and my husband try and discipline our children appropriately when necessary. When want to ensure that their actions don’t go unchecked. Simple manners like please and thank you- are just the beginning. Don’t tar all parents with the same brush…
Where was ADHD in the 70s and 80s?it seems all too prevalent nowadays. I do believe SOME parents misuse the condition to excuse “bad” behaviour. AND before I get red thumbed- I have 3 children-8,7 and 2. I do know what naughty vs good should be and when I as a parent should step up and take responsibility for my children’s behaviour and not blame a condition.
Should be ashamed of yourselves running this story. Many young kids including my own son have ADHD and I don’t take kindly to having it slagged off as is the case here. I’m all for a laugh and joke but not at some child’s expense. Shame on you. If it was a slur about skin colour, wheelchair bound people, mentally handicapped or blind people would you still run it.
I doubt the play makes fun of ADHD. The original ADHD and Asperger’s kids are in their twenties now. Things are becoming more tolerant, and diagnosed writers/actors are emerging. I wouldn’t worry.
Hi all,
@Jambbie: With respect, I’m not sure what problem you have with this review. The show itself, which is part of this year’s Fringe festival, discusses ADHD and some of the reactions and misunderstandings surrounding the condition. It seems that there are some playful elements to the story but I don’t think that these try to poke fun at children or those with ADHD – far from it. In any case, TheJournal.ie didn’t write or stage the play – this is just a review of it.
More generally, I’d like to point out that ADHD is a recognised behavioural condition that presents very real challenges to those who suffer from it and their families (see: http://www.apa.org/topics/adhd/index.aspx). It really isn’t helpful to suggest that children with ADHD are just “acting up”.
my son was very bold and used to have at least half a dozen very bad tantrums every day,,, it was a nightmare,, doctor said he had adhd,,I didn’t agree,,I didn’t want to label my child just so his mother could get some extra allowance,,I changed his diet and made sure he got out for lots of exercise,, he was just a normal boy, with lots of energy that needed to be burnt off,, and u am aware that there are genuine cases, but kids are you easily labeled adhd,, their kids their supposed to be balls of energy and excitement,,
Sounds like a good story . Could be a laugh. Wouldn’t mind seeing it for the craic.
have your say