HSE to discuss offering antibiotic treatment in areas affected by Strep A outbreaks
Diagnostic culture swab and holder with lab culture report. Stock Image.
The HSE will meet on Wednesday afternoon to discuss offering antibiotic treatment in areas affected by Strep A outbreaks, the Oireachtas Health Committee heard.
This follows the death of a child in the northeast/North Dublin region which is being investigated by the HSE. Strep A is among the diagnoses being considered.
Invasive Group A Strep (IGAS) can cause lethal sepsis, shock, or meningitis.
The committee also heard from the HSE and Department of Health of “unacceptably long” hospital waiting lists despite improvements in some areas.
Concern has been growing among parents due to an unusually high number of Strep A cases.
HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said: “Our health protection facility, as part of public health, are meeting this afternoon with paediatric specialist services to see if there is any enhanced measures we can take such as provision of antibiotic coverage where there may be outbreaks.”
He added: “That is something to be considered this afternoon.”
The bug is usually seen in Ireland in late spring or early summer, he said.
“For parents, there is information available on the HSE website, we encourage people to access that. It gives information on what to do if you’re worried your child is sick with sore throat, fever, a rash,” he said.
Dr Henry said this is the first winter in some time with a number of viruses coming at once including Covid-19, RSV and the flu.
Chief Operations Officer Damien McCallion said programmes are running with paramedics and emergency departments to reduce times patients are waiting.
Some 205,000 scans and diagnostics were provided for patients by the end of October through their GPs having direct access to booking these.
Overall hospital waiting lists were a particular focus, with the health representatives agreeing the situation for patients is unacceptable.
The department secretary general Robert Watt said: “While we have not achieved all that we hoped to in terms of waiting lists in 2022, we have seen particular progress in relation to long waiters, which have reduced significantly from their pandemic peaks.”
The number of patients waiting longer than 12 months for an outpatient appointment has decreased by 35% since March 2021.
He said they are examining hiring processes, and said: “For this year, we are below the target we had forecast.”
More than 15,000 staff have been recruited in the last two years, he said, including 4,500 nurses and midwives.
Those present also welcomed Cabinet approval of a new contract for hospital consultants which will give patients more direct access to doctors at weekends among other changes. This will now be considered by doctors’ bodies.
The committee queried the progress of moving towards Regional Health Areas (RHA) to run the health services under the Slaintecare reforms.
HSE interim CEO Stephen Mulvany said work continues to decide which powers and roles will be devolved from the central offices to these regions.
“RHAs will have a very large degree of autonomy over the “how” i.e., how the various resources and providers in their area are organised and networked to deliver on the nationally agreed integrated services, outputs, outcomes, and objectives,” he said.
The committee heard in future, each head of the new RHAs will be directly accountable to the committee for their budgeting and procurement practices.
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