HSE Partner Pack 11th February 2022

Winter pressure on our health service

A range of factors including the impact of winter and the high numbers in hospital and attending Emergency Departments (ED) are leading to a very high demand on both hospital and community services.

Our hospitals are seeing record attendance levels, with over 27,900 attending Emergency Departments this week alone, and almost 7,000 people admitted to hospital in the last week (an increase of 23.8% on the same week last year). We have seen an average of 333 people on trolleys each day this week, a 203% increase on the same week last year. 

COVID-19 is continuing to have an impact on services, as we continue to manage and care for patients with COVID-19, with 595 patients in acute settings yesterday morning. Currently, there are 601 COVID-19 reported outbreaks across all community settings, with 51% of all nursing homes in outbreak, with 50 confirmed outbreaks in the last 7 days. 

In line with the HSE Winter Plan, a number of measures are being taken to manage this period of high demand. 

The HSE is asking members of the public to consider all care options before attending hospital EDs, as acute and community services face a period of unprecedented pressure. There are a range of care pathways available to patients who do not need emergency care including Pharmacists, GP, GP Out of Hours Services and Minor Injury Units. Within EDs, patients will be prioritised based on their clinical need.

COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 – 11 years

Clinical trials show this vaccine is highly effective at preventing COVID-19 in children. Though serious illness from COVID-19 is rare in this age group, they are even less likely to become seriously ill with COVID-19 if they are vaccinated. 

The HSE has dedicated information for parents on hse.ie, which outlines the benefits and risks of the vaccine and is available here. 

At the bottom of this message is the new COVID-19 Vaccine for 5-11 years old campaign partner pack. We would be grateful if you would help to share the information in this campaign pack with your members, communications channels, networks and staff.

COVID-19 booster (4th) dose for people who are immunocompromised (have a weak immune system)

People who have a weak immune system, also called immunocompromised, can now get a booster (4th) dose. People in this group were offered an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last year, and can now get a booster dose if it has been 3 months since their additional dose. If they had the Pfizer, Astrazenaca or Moderna vaccine, this booster will be their fourth vaccine dose. See below for information on how to get your booster dose.

You can find more information here.

Treatment for people at the highest risk from COVID-19

A new medicine is available to treat people with COVID-19 (coronavirus) who are at the highest risk of becoming seriously ill. Sotrovimab is also known by the brand name Xevudy. It is the first type of COVID-19 medicine available in Ireland. You'll be told by your doctor or consultant if this medicine is for you. Other COVID-19 medicines are expected to become available soon.

You can find more information here. 

COVID-19 vaccine booster

People aged 16 and older can get their COVID-19 vaccine booster dose now. This includes people who have a weak immune system. To book an appointment or find a clinic near you, visit hse.ie. 

You need to wait at least 3 months (90 days) after your vaccine course before you can get a booster dose. If you have had COVID-19 since you were vaccinated you should get your booster dose at least 3 months after your positive result.

Please bring photo ID that shows your date of birth to your appointment or walk-in clinic.

Vaccination clinics

We continue to operate clinics for dose 1 and dose 2 vaccinations (for people aged 12 years and over), and booster vaccine clinics. Find the full list of clinics by county here. You can also check @HSELive on Twitter for daily updates. 

All of our vaccination centres are offering online booking for booster appointments, which can be booked up to 5 days in advance. You can find more information here.

COVID-19 Testing 

Full details of how to get tested are available here.

COVID-19 Vaccination Programme 

You can find the latest information on vaccines administered here.

COVID-19 information in other languages 

Visit hse.ie/translations for a range of COVID-19 vaccine information videos and other resources that have been produced in other languages, including information on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy. 

The #LayerUp posters which outline guidance to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities are available in a range of languages. 

Where to find COVID-19 Vaccination Information

We encourage everyone to read about the COVID-19 vaccine and to get their information from a factual, trusted source – here are the links to the pages with information on the vaccine:

• Check here for information about the vaccine, information on this page is updated regularly
• Find the vaccine information materials at hse.ie/covid19vaccinematerials
• Details on COVID-19 vaccines administered are available here
• Read the full COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy
• Read the National Immunisation Advisory Committee Chapter about COVID-19 vaccine
• COVID-19 vaccine information for health professionals
• Information in Irish Sign Language: information resources on the COVID-19 vaccines in Irish  Sign Language are available here
• COVID-19 vaccines easy read and accessible information formats are available here
• Translated resources are available here

Public Health Measures 

You can find information on public health measures here.  

Applications are now being invited by the HSE for National Lottery Funding Grants

This funding is distributed by the HSE each year to community-based groups and voluntary organisations under the Respite Care Grant Scheme and the National Lottery Grant Scheme.

Groups and organisations involved in the provision of Health and Personal Social Services can apply for once-off funding of between €500 and €10,000 for suitable projects.

Click here for more information including the application form.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Wednesday 23rd March 2022. Applicants will be advised as to the outcome of their application by 8th July 2022.

Free flu vaccine for all at-risk groups

It’s flu season and while anyone can catch the flu, some people are more at risk of catching the flu, getting seriously ill or needing hospital treatment. The HSE encourages all at-risk groups to make an appointment with their GP or Pharmacist for their free flu vaccine. People at risk include those aged 50 or over, children aged 2 to 17, people with certain long term conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers. It’s the best way to be protected from the flu. Find a participating pharmacy.

Get expert advice at MyChild.ie

A promotional campaign for MyChild.ie is on-air from next week highlighting this free online pregnancy and child health resource for parents and parents-to-be. Get expert advice for every step of pregnancy, baby and toddler health at MyChild.ie.

Ireland Reads Day

As part of the Healthy Ireland programme, Irish libraries, publishers, booksellers, NALA and others are partnering to get the whole country reading this month in the lead up to Ireland Reads Day on Friday, 25^th of February. The aim is to get people to pledge to ‘squeeze in a read’ on the 25^th of February, Ireland Reads Day – whether that’s reading a book, a newspaper, a comic – whatever works. 

You can find more information at www.irelandreads.ie.

Consultation on the draft National Standards for Infection and Prevention Control (IPC) 2022 is now open until 18th February 2022

The guidelines are for people working in healthcare. This includes healthcare workers, management and support staff. They are also relevant to people using healthcare services (these sections are highlighted in the text).

The draft document has 360 pages, so for practical reasons it is fine to limit feedback to areas in which you take a particular interest or have particular expertise.  

Information on how to submit feedback is available here.

Read the Draft National Standards for Infection and Prevention Control (IPC) 2022 here.                                                     

These guidelines will be a practical support to IPC practitioners and others in their work to control healthcare associated infection. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping to ensure that the document fulfils its intended purpose.

The Active Disability Services Awards

The Active Disability Services Awards have been developed to recognise and reward Disability Services throughout Ireland who have shown leadership and commitment to helping people with disabilities stay active and healthy.  The awards will highlight the commitment of staff, management, and individuals with disabilities as well as highlighting the programmes which have a focus on encouraging and supporting service users to participate in physical activity and healthy practices.

The closing date for entries is Friday, 25th February 2022.

You can find information on the awards here.

Public Health Information

For updated information and advice on Coronavirus, please go to: https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/ and https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/. Clinical and professional guidance relating to COVID-19 is available on www.hpsc.ie where you’ll find up to date guidance for healthcare settings and non-clinical settings.

Please check here for the most up to date partner resources for COVID-19.

You can find translated resources here.

You can find the COVID-19 A-Z information here from the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

Please also check the Healthy Ireland site here with further resources and information on the Keep Well campaign.

You can view the latest information on how Ireland is responding to cases of COVID-19 here.

Ireland’s COVID-19 Data Hub is available here.

If your organisation has any requests in relation to COVID-19 public health information materials, please reply directly to this email to let us know.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Kahlil and Sandra

COVID-19 Stakeholder Engagement, HSE Communications