Healthcare worker pleads with minister to open regional Covid-19 isolation centres

The worker was told they would have to relocate to Citywest hotel in Dublin from Cork after testing positive for the virus.

Citywest Hotel, where the country's only public self-isolation facility is located. File Picture.

The government has been asked to set up regional self-isolation centres after a Cork-based healthcare worker who had been using temporary HSE accommodation to remain on the Covid-19 frontline was told to relocate to Dublin for self-isolation after testing positive for the virus.

The worker, one of several who has been availing of temporary accommodation in the Kingsley Hotel in Cork under agreed protocols with the HSE, has now pleaded directly with the Health Minister to intervene.

The worker told Minister Stephen Donnelly they feel too unwell to travel to the HSE's only public self-isolation facility at City West in Dublin.

“It doesn’t make sense to move accommodation at this time and put a transport provider at additional risk,” the worker wrote.

Worker’s Party councillor on Cork City Council, Ted Tynan, said he understands why this worker has been asked to leave the hotel — to keep other healthcare staff there safe — but said it highlights the need for regional self-isolation centres.

There are plenty of empty hotels or other properties around the country that would be suitable for such self-isolation facilities so that sick people aren't traipsing from all over the country to City West

In an email to the minister, the healthcare worker, who was based in a nursing home, said staff worked relentlessly to ensure residents got the best care possible.

All but two of the home’s almost 50 residents and almost all staf tested positive for Covid-19.

“As a healthcare worker on €10.70 per hour, I have gone above and beyond for the residents, sometimes doing 24-hour shifts,” the worker wrote.

“We also have put our deceased residents into body bags and sealed coffins. It is a privilege to be able to be part of this process for our loved ones but it is not everyone who would do this."

Pleaded with minister

After testing positive for Covid-19, the worker was advised they would be provided with hotel accommodation in Dublin. They pleaded with the minister to establish regional centres to allow isolation and minimise travel and risk. 

The Kingsley Hotel, which has remained open during Level 5 lockdown to support the provision of essential services, declined to comment.

The hotel has had an agreement in place with HSE since last April to provide temporary accommodation to healthcare workers who meet certain criteria. It is one of a number of centres the HSE is using to house qualifying healthcare workers.

However, the terms of the deal require that if a healthcare worker tests positive for the virus, they must leave these centres.

Single self-isolation facility

The HSE’s only public self-isolation facility, for people who can’t self-isolate at home, is in City West in Dublin. Despite signals last year that similar facilities would be established in Cork, Galway and Limerick, they haven’t been delivered.

“To be admitted to the self-isolation facility, a person needs a referral from a hospital, GP, contact tracing team or another appropriate healthcare professional,” a spokesperson for the HSE said.

“Once someone’s referral is accepted by the admissions team at City West, that person generally arranges their own transportation to the facility.

“However in circumstances where this is not feasible, support can be provided.

“The need and demand for self-isolation facilities is kept under constant review. The available facilities for self-isolation currently meets demand.”