Second Covid outbreak at Cavan General

It follows shortly after a decision was made earlier this week to postpone all elective in-patient procedures following a marked rise in community transmissions locally.

Cavan General is coming to terms with a second outbreak of Covid-19 among patients and staff at the local hospital.

The news comes after a decision was made earlier this week to postpone all elective in-patient procedures following a rise in community transmissions locally.

As of last weekend, Cavan General had been caring for several patients infected with the novel coronavirus.

It's understood those admitted are all in a stable condition, none are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), nor have they been in receipt of emergency critical care.

However, since then the number of staff reportedly gone into quarantine following suspected symptoms has shot upwards.

Extensive contract tracing taking place among those who have tested positive, with multiple disciplines within the hospital are understood to be effected.

Outbreak

It is the second outbreak of the virus to occur at Cavan General, with the last occurring back in April.

Following the outbreak of Covid-19 among patients and staff at CGH earlier in the year, restrictions were placed Medical Wards 1 and 2, while Surgical 1 and Surgical 2 utilised as dedicated wards to treat Covid-positive patients only.

At the height of the outbreak the numbers being treated at CGH for Covid peaked at almost 40 confirmed cases.

The fresh outbreak has again led to the hospital requesting that only 'urgent referrals' be made at this present time.

Its understood that the RCSI and management at Cavan General Hospital wrote to the hospital by email yesterday morning (Wednesday) warning them of the outbreak.

'Please be advised that there is currently an outbreak of Covid-19 in Cavan General Hospital.

'The Outbreak Committee are meeting regularly and all appropriate measures have been put in place.

'We would kindly request that urgent referrals only are made into Cavan General at this time.

'We appreciate your cooperation in relation to these measures and thank you for your ongoing support'.

The RSCI Hospital group has been contacted directly by The Anglo-Celt for comment. The request was lodged with the RCSI earlier this morning.

The Anglo-Celt understands that Cavan General has ramped up preparations for the Winter flu season, while with one eye also on dealing with any potential rise in Covid presentations.

Those levels of preparedness were stepped up further in September.

Safe and direct pathways of care have been established for patients displaying symptoms of Covid sickness, and visiting arrangements at the hospital have now been severely curtailed.

Restrictions

A strict “no visiting” rule has been in place since the beginning of the week, with people seeking to visit critically ill, or end of life patients advised to contact the ward manager directly.

Visiting at Maternity, Antenatal or Paediatrics, is now on a case-by-case basis, and visitors are being reminded about hand hygiene and mask wearing. Temperature checks are also taking place.

The cancellation and rescheduling of elective procedures, including endoscopy, could extend beyond this week.

The hospital has also seen works completed on changes made to the A&E department aimed at realigning the pathways to care for patients attending with complaining of Covid-like symptoms.

It comes as the hospital is ramping up its preparedness ahead of the onset of winter flu season, by seeking to counter any potential rise in Covid infections too.

Works have been carried out within the hospital's Emergency Department to better realign pathways to care. The enhancement of ED facilities was required due to increasing attendance and demand placed on the service.

The process of engaging a design team was initiated prior to the pandemic, with the project having received approval from the HSE’s National Capital Steering Committee back in November 2019.

The design team was subsequently tasked with taking into account any and all learnings arising from the Covid response at the hospital and integrate those into their design also.

Alternatives

Monaghan Hospital was previously considered during the worst of the pandemic for use as a spill-over site to treat Covid-19 patients.

Monaghan hospital hosts a minor injuries unit and generally focuses more as a step-down facility for rehabilitation services, but utilising the site if demand becomes too much on its sister facility in Cavan, is one such contingency measure drafted by the local hierarchy.

The Celt learned there are plans to increase the level of outpatient services at Monaghan Hospital, after endoscopy services were extended earlier this year.

The prospect of adding second scoping room is one proposal being mulled over, while some radiology is another new service for Monaghan currently under consideration.