Questions asked about Covid crossover in hospitals
THE Aontú representative for Mayo, Paul Lawless, has called on the government and HSE to detail the number of people who have died after contracting Covid-19 while in hospital.
Speaking in reaction to RTÉ's Prime Time programme last night, Mr. Lawless said: “Last night on Prime Time we saw the extent of the spread of Covid-19 in hospital settings. It was revealed that in 2020, more than 1,000 people contracted the virus in hospital, while 800 have contracted Covid-19 so far this year while in hospital.
“These are shocking figures which show just how widespread the issue is.
“At the start of the pandemic, my party - Aontú - and Independent Councillor Michael Kilcoyne were constantly raising the issue of Covid crossover in Mayo University Hospital. Our questions ultimately led to the Health Minister requesting a report from the CEO of the HSE regarding the situation in Mayo.”
He continued: “The problems in hospitals haven't gone away, and many people are very frightened - and rightly so - about presenting to hospital for non-Covid related issues.
“I have been speaking to nurses in recent weeks, and it is crystal clear from my engagement with them that the main strain facing hospitals at the moment is a shortage of staff.
“Our front-line workers are doing their level best under extraordinary circumstances. They just don't have the staff to be able to cope.”
RTÉ's research shows that throughout this pandemic 1,800 people contracted the virus in hospitals. “I am calling on the government to reveal to the public how many of those 1,800 have passed away since testing positive,” he said.
“I am also calling, once again, for an update on the 'Be On Call For Ireland' database. Before Christmas, the Minister for Health revealed to Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD that just over 100 nurses had been recruited from that 70,000 strong database. This makes no sense whatsoever, that there are tens of thousands of volunteers not contacted while we have a hospital system on its knees.
“We cannot sort out the rest of society if we do not first sort out hospitals.”