The Health Minister, Robin Swann MLA, held a press briefing this afternoon to outline the Department’s newest measures in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
It was announced this morning that a person has died from the virus in Northern Ireland. The Department said that 77 people have now tested positive for COVID-19.
The new measures introduced by the Minister this afternoon are the first in the ‘Surge Plans’ the Department is undertaking to tackle the virus.
Testing capacity will be increased to around 800 COVID-19 tests per day. This will enable the Health and Social Care Board to extend the availability of testing to frontline health and social care staff, ensuring that they can continue to deliver vital services.
The Minister announced that third year nursing and midwifery students within the last six months of qualifying will be sent to clinical care. This will happen in the next 10-14 days and will provide support of up to 880 senior nursing and midwifery students. Final Year Medical Student from QUB will join the Medical Register 4 months earlier than originally arranged and will become immediately available to assist medical teams across NI hospitals.
All five Trusts have identified specific wards to provide additional bed capacity to respond to the needs of people with COVID-19 who need hospital admission.
Some 40 additional ventilators have been ordered bringing the total available in Northern Ireland to 179 by the end of March.
Plans are in place to rapidly increase the number of critical care beds as necessary.
All Trusts are halting non-urgent appointments investigation and procedures. This action is necessary to allow us to redeploy key staff to support the care of people admitted to hospital because of COVID-19. Outpatient appointments, day case and elective inpatient services will be maintained for urgent cases. Similarly, surgery for the treatment of cancer and other urgent procedures will continue.
All Trusts will apply appropriate restrictions on the number of visitors that are permitted.
All HSC Trusts will also be focusing sustained attention on ensuring patients who are medically well are safely and rapidly discharged from hospital, with appropriate care arrangements, to ensure hospital beds are available for any increase in admissions.
Routine GP work will be adjusted or suspended in the first number of weeks of the epidemic. Requests for consultations will be telephone triaged and an increased proportion of patients will have advice provided by telephone consultation.
Community pharmacies have put in place a range of special measures to deal with a surge in demand. This will include up to a 48 hour wait for dispensing of medication and three patients at a time allowed inside premises.
Services will be prioritised for those most in need i.e. the vulnerable and those at risk of harm. This will include core children’s and young people’s services, older people’s services, mental health services, and learning disability services.
The Minister stated that if these measures are adhered to by the majority of the population, as well as the social distancing that is being encouraged, the spike in the virus could be cut by 50% and the death rate of COVID-19 could be cut by a third.