Notable increase in Covid-19 cases in mental health service

John Farrelly: It is concerning to see how the virus has taken hold in our mental health centres again. Picture: Jason Clarke

The Mental Health Commission (MHC) has said it is concerned about a "notable increase" in suspected and confirmed cases of Covid-19 among residents and staff of 183 residential mental health services in the first two weeks of the year.

In the fortnight from New Year’s Eve to Friday last, January 15, the number of mental health facilities that had reported suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 to the MHC increased from 17 to 55, while the number of residents with confirmed cases of the virus increased from 15 to 61 and the number of staff members confirmed with the virus increased from 36 to 125.

The MHC said it was also notified of the deaths of three residents over the course of last week, following their transfer to hospital after they became unwell in the mental health centre. 

Two of the residents had tested positive for Covid-19 prior to death, while the third was reported to the coroner as a possible Covid-19 case.

According to the metrics the MHC provided to health authorities, there were 95 suspected or confirmed cases last week relating to residents, compared to 40 the previous week, and 61 of those cases were confirmed as positive.

There were also 158 suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases relating to staff, 125 of which were confirmed.

The MHC said 183 facilities - comprising of 66 in-patient units and 117 (unregulated) community residences - care for more than 3,900 mental health patients and residents across the country and that the recent rise in suspected and confirmed cases was of serious concern.

The chief executive of the Mental Health Commission, John Farrelly, said: "It is concerning to see how the virus has taken hold in our mental health centres again and we must do everything we can now and for the next few weeks to help management and staff decelerate the rise in cases."

He described the recent surge as "extremely distressing", while the director of regulation for the Mental Health Commission, Gary Kiernan, said the MHC was concerned that many centres have still not received a vaccination schedule.

"While a number of services have reported some access to vaccination, the majority of services we have been in contact with have not," he said.

"We continue to be concerned about the lack of a roll-out schedule for mental health services, particularly for centres which provide services for residents aged 65 and over in long-stay accommodation. Services need to know when and how they will receive the vaccination in accordance with the Government’s plan."