St. Michael's House - Family Frequently Asked Questions (23 February 2021)
1. The Visitor Restrictions have reverted to Level 5 for service users, what plans are in place to support these persons?
St. Michael's House are advised by NHPET and HSE guidelines on visitor restrictions. We know it is not for everyone but we are increasing our Digital activity, training and resources to support. The staffs are working directly with families.
2. Is there Covid-19 cases in St. Michael’s House services?
St Michael’s House continue to monitor any positive cases and any increase requirement of staff to self-isolate if they are close contacts. We are managing individual service user cases. There are a number of units within the service where staff are routinely using full PPE.
3. Has the vaccination process started in St. Michael’s House services?
St. Michael’s House, working with HSE DNCC (Dublin City and Country), completed the vaccination process of 47 service users over 65 years. We have vaccinated over 25% of staff and we will continue to work with the HSE on the sequence of the vaccination process.
4. Can St. Michael’s House medical trained staff vaccinate the service users/staff?
The Covid-19 vaccination process is managed by the HSE. St. Michael’s House support and work with the HSE but our medical staff teams do not administer the vaccine.
We have highlighted locally with the HSE, and nationally, that all service users within our service, and all staff and carers, should be a priority for vaccinations. Given the national emergency, the HSE strongly encourage all individuals to take the vaccine when offered, and St. Michael’s House will do all we can to support all individuals to receive the vaccine as appropriate.
5. How long will it be before all service users are vaccinated and return to their service routines?
We are working with the HSE on the vaccination process. St. Michael’s House have advocated strongly and have worked with the HSE at short notice to accommodate the vaccination process. Our staff teams are waiting and willing to support the process. However, there is a national vaccination sequence which you can read in full here. This outlines the vaccination process nationwide.
6. Are families being updated on changes from the Government re Covid-19?
Our CEO, Liz Reynolds, has written monthly letters to Families. There are regular updates on SMH.ie website and in our organisation E-zine.
Please contact us with any questions at communications@smh.ie
Thank you