Vomiting bug outbreak at Connolly Hospital

AN OUTBREAK of the highly contagious vomiting bug in
Connolly Hospital saw an effective lock-down of the Blanchardstown hospital
last week.

Visiting restrictions, affecting a number of wards,
were implemented due to an outbreak of Norovirus, which can cause violent
vomiting and diarrhoea.

Visitors were asked to stay away from the hospital and
were only permitted at the discretion of the ward manager. No children were
allowed on the general wards at any time.

The restrictions were introduced on Monday, January 23
after the outbreak began the previous day.

The HSE appealed to anyone who had vomiting or
diarrhoea to not visit the hospital for 48 hours after their symptoms ceased.

St Vincent’s and Beaumont hospitals were forced to
introduce similar restrictions over the Christmas period when more than 100
people were affected by a similar outbreak.

Norovirus is extremely contagious and has no specific
treatment. The public was asked to contact their GP or GP Out of Hours service
so that the emergency department could attend to emergency cases only.

According to Dublin West Sinn Fein representative Paul
Donnelly the situation could have been compounded by staff shortages and a
recruitment embargo at the hospital.

“I’m calling for the reversal of staff cuts at
Connolly Hospital to enable staff to deal with the present difficulties and
ensure that the hospital can serve the needs of the people when they need it,

?
he stated.

“I was informed on Sunday morning (January 22) of the
serious outbreak of the winter vomiting bug and that four wards were closed.

“This led to serious pressure in A&E with one
staff member describing it as

‘out the door’.

“When a serious incident like the vomiting bug arises
there’s no wriggle room in the system to ensure that patients are treated and
allocated a bed if needed within an appropriate timescale.

?

He added:

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work
out that you cannot continue to cut frontline staff and beds in the health
system.

?

Those seeking information on visiting restriction at
Connolly Hospital were asked to call 01-6465000.