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PEOPLE VISITING HOSPITALS from Monday onwards will have to show proof they are vaccinated against Covid-19 or immune from the virus.
The previous guidance from the HSE stated that visitors should not attend a hospital if they had tested positive for Covid-19 or had any symptoms.
The official policy is set to change next week, but exceptions will still be made on compassionate grounds. NPHET last month recommended that the Covid-19 pass should be a requirement for visiting hospitals “subject to operational feasibility”.
The HSE’s new guidance states that visitors “should be asked to produce their EU Digital Covid Certificate or HSE Covid-19 Vaccination Record or other proof of immunity at the entrance”.
“Visitors may be asked to show some photo ID to prove that the proof of immunity is theirs. For regular visitors this need not be checked at every attendance if the staff member who is monitoring access is confident that the visitor has previously produced proof of immunity,” it adds.
Staff members from St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) in Dublin have welcomed the change in policy after raising concerns about the visiting guidelines there.
Nurses in the intensive care unit at SVUH said they were particularly concerned about unvaccinated visitors coming into contact with vulnerable patients.
One ICU nurse said: “The visiting system is a shambles. You have to show your Covid certificate to get into a coffee shop but not Vincent’s ICU or the wards
Another nurse said: “It’s ridiculous that we can’t ask for Covid certs in a hospital. Are you joking me? Staff and the most vulnerable patients are possibly being exposed to unvaccinated people.”
A third nurse added that some “difficult” relatives of patients who have informed staff they are unvaccinated have been “allowed into hospital whenever they want”.
Another staff member who works in a different part of the hospital said: “The visiting system, or lack of system, is a shambles and there is going to be a lot more positive cases in this hospital if nothing is done.”
Change in guidelines
When asked about visiting guidelines at hospitals, the HSE confirmed to The Journal that it decided to change its policy last month.
A spokesperson noted that on 18 October the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan informed the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly that NPHET strongly recommended “that subject to operational feasibility that the Covid-19 pass be adopted as a requirement for visitation to healthcare settings with a provision for exemptions on compassionate grounds”.
The spokesperson said: “A period of time was required to develop guidance to implement this measure in a practical way. In particular it was important to meet the requirement for exemptions on compassionate grounds. When these issues were addressed HSE AMRIC guidance was updated in this regard and is for implementation from November 29th 2021.”
They noted that people in hospitals “often need access or visits from important people in their lives. This is especially important when they are lonely, stressed, upset or critically ill”.
“HSE Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control (AMRIC) guidance has advised careful control of access for visitors and others to healthcare settings from very early in the pandemic.
“Visitors accessing healthcare facilities should be clear of symptoms of COVID-19. If they have been advised to self isolate or restrict movements they should not visit. They must follow all directions on infection prevention and control while in the hospital,” they added.
When asked about the concerns of its staff members, a spokesperson for SVUH said that hospital officials “closely monitor and review its arrangements for visitors to the hospital in line with the HSE and public health guidance to ensure that the visiting arrangements in place do not present a risk to either patients or staff”.
“The hospital currently operates a system whereby visitors are requested to use the visitor booking system. Visitors are required to complete a questionnaire over the phone in relation to their Covid status before their booking is confirmed.
“Updated HSE guidance in relation to visiting has been issued to all acute hospitals in recent days for implementation on 29th November 2021. As per the updated guidance visitors will be asked to produce their EU Digital Covid Certificate or HSE Covid-19 Vaccination Record or other proof of immunity on entering the hospital.”
The SVUH spokesperson said that in addition to this system, the hospital “will always facilitate visitors outside of the dedicated visiting times where there are specific circumstances including (but not limited to) compassionate access to patients, care of vulnerable patients and patients with other specific needs and this is managed on a case by case basis following individual risk assessment”.
“We believe that our current arrangements allow us to support visiting to the hospital for our patients which is a very important aspect of their care in a way which is controlled, safe and in line with the HSE and public health guidance,” they added.
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The poor man I hope he makes a speedy recovery & gets the help he needs!
No doubt an addict stumbling across the road from merchants quay treatment centre. I’m forced to weave around one out of it on the road at least once a week there early in the morning each week. Hope he’s ok.
@thegreatdefector: still a human being.
@thegreatdefector: why do you have to contribute to the already existing stigma against addicts, it could of been anyone!!in any situation! from any walk of life, even someone who might of had to much to drink and fell. Be nice you pr*ck
@thegreatdefector: no you don’t hope he is ok , all you seem to care about is the inconvenience of weaving around some person in the morning once a week
@Patricia Mcnamara: well said Patricia. Because someone is an addict means they are suffering with a dreadful illness not that they are less human or expendable. There before the grace of God go I…. It’s someone’s son/daughter brother/sister.
@Trevor croft: Imploring someone to be nice while calling him a p*ick. Ironic that.
@thegreatdefector: Merchants quay treatment centre is open at 7am?
@JC: sorry jesus your right, I could of chose my words differently! Be nice you gobshi#te
@thegreatdefector: no doubt? How many of
‘ them’ have you heard of that actually fell in? In case you haven’t seen it, that bridge would need to be climbed or the person would have to have been ‘helped’ over it.The people who use that service have enough to struggle with in their daily lives without broad sweeping assumptions about them being thrown about as if they’re less than human.
@thegreatdefector: it’s the 65 thumbs up to your comment that’s frightening. May be maybe not a junkie but he is someones son.
@Thomas Claffey: I personally don’t like that word but it’s your mouth (or thumb in this instance) so fire away. My youngest brother, who died earlier this year, was an addict. You wouldn’t have been allowed to call him that in front of me without a dressing down I can tell you but your sentiment is correct. Everyone is someone’s son or daughter and entitled to basic respect. Will you please think about using that word to describe people? It’s hurtful to them and to those who actually know and care about them.
@Daff. Myers: sorry for your loss Daff. It’s a truly terrible illness. I hope he passed peacefully and is free of that demon now.
@Daff. Myers: it is what it is
@Daff. Myers: I am sorry for your loss. but I have walked in them shoes and was called that name .I was hooked on junk. Iam not someone that has not gone through it.
@Thomas Claffey: that makes it even more amazing you would use language that makes you appear to have no empathy. Why not use your life experience to educate and help? You’d be best qualified if you’ve lived through that and come out the other side.
@Mick Murphy: thanks Mick. We know where he is now and that nobody will ever hurt him again. And yes, at least he is free of the demon.
A sign of the times
Sad.. a sign of the times
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