HEALTHY RESIDENTS living in a nursing home in Donegal which is at the centre of a flu outbreak, were not separated from those infected until after the Health Service Executive was called in.
The HSE was called into Nazareth House nursing home in Fahan, near Buncrana, last Sunday evening after five elderly residents had died of the flu. A sixth person died the next day.
Tests carried out at the National Virus Reference Laboratory confirmed the illness was Influenza A (H3).
Dr Peter Wright, director of public health, HSE North West, said the HSE’s practice was to separate the “cohort group” from healthy people and this had been done after they were called to the home.
The HSE had deployed a team of doctors, nurses and surveillance scientists to the home to “control and manage the situation” and “to put all appropriate treatment and control measures in place”.
Some 11 residents who currently have symptoms of the illness have been treated with antibiotics and anti-viral medicines. Unaffected residents have been given anti-viral prophylaxis.
The majority of those at the home had already had the seasonal flu vaccine. Those who had not, have been offered it. Four of those who died were vaccinated.
The results from the laboratory had proved that the measures put in place by the HSE had been appropriate “since they became aware of the tragic deaths of residents in the nursing home”, Dr Wright said.
What happened prior to the HSE’s intervention would be a matter for the review being carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).
The authority would also be reviewing the fact that one new resident had been admitted to the home last Saturday, March 31st, after four residents had died.
Measures had been put in place to restrict visitors to the home and any staff with symptoms had been excluded.
“We continue to closely manage the situation,” Dr Wright said.
A spokeswoman for the authority said yesterday that inspectors were sent to the home on Monday night. Their remit was to work with the provider and the HSE to ascertain what the best interests of the residents were, in terms of quality of care, she said.
In a statement last night, the Sisters of Nazareth, the order of nuns who run the private home, expressed their deepest condolences.
“This is an extremely upsetting time for the families of the deceased and we continue to provide the residents at Nazareth nursing home with the highest standard of care,” a spokesman said.
All but one of the funerals of those who died have already taken place. Sister Eugene Fullerton, who worked at Nazareth House and lived in the convent beside it, was waked at the nursing home yesterday and will be buried later today in Cockhill.
The funeral took place yesterday of another victim, Margaret McGuire, who was buried in her native Culdaff.
Michael McVeigh from Buncrana also died at the home.
