Influenza kills two nursing home residents

TWO RESIDENTS at a nursing home in Co Roscommon have died as a result of an influenza outbreak.

The residents, at Drumderrig Nursing Home in Boyle, had contracted the A H3 strain of the flu virus, along with 40 others at the home.

It was the same strain that was responsible for the deaths of seven residents at Nazareth House nursing home near Buncrana, Co Donegal, earlier this year.

Drumderrig, which has 76 residents, has temporarily stopped accepting new admissions. Visitor restrictions are also in place.

A public health team from the Health Service Executive is at the home to ensure patients are correctly managed to reduce infection and prevent the spread of the disease, the HSE said yesterday.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said there had been no new cases of the illness at the Boyle nursing home since April 26th.

She said the recommended infection control measures had been put in place by the private nursing home.

“The HSE West public health team is working with the nursing home to ensure that all appropriate infection control measures are in place,” she said.

“They will continue to manage and closely monitor the situation in line with best practice.”

All ill patients at the home had been treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu and all of the other patients had been put on preventive medicine, unless clinically inappropriate.

“It is important to reiterate that whilst flu is usually a relatively mild infection it can be a very serious illness among the elderly and is a common cause of death in older people,” the HSE spokeswoman said.

The HSE also advised visitors to all nursing homes and all healthcare staff to ensure that their vaccinations for influenza are up to date. In a statement issued last night, the private nursing home said it was providing full assistance and co-operation to all relevant authorities.

“Management, staff and residents of the Drumderrig Nursing Home community are deeply saddened by the passing of two of our residents as a result of the outbreak and offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who have passed away,” the statement said.

“Drumderrig Nursing Home has a proud tradition of providing care to an extremely high standard and has always acted in the best interests of our residents.”

The home asked that the privacy of residents, their relatives and staff be respected “during this difficult time”.

The Health Information and Quality Authority, which inspects nursing homes, has not sent inspectors to the home during the current outbreak, but it has inspected it previously.

The home, on the outskirts of Boyle town, was established in 1980. It was registered with the authority in August 2010 with 13 conditions placed on its registration.

Inspectors had raised concerns about issues including staffing levels, governance and care and welfare of residents, according to an authority report, but the issues had been largely addressed after follow-up visits.