'Staff feel disrespected' - Nursing home workers call on govt to expedite Covid payment

Nursing home staff across Ireland are calling on the government to expedite a special pandemic recognition payment promised to frontline healthcare workers. 

Over 2,000 letters from private and voluntary nursing home staff around the country have been delivered to the Department of Health today (October 11) nine months after the payment was announced.  

According to Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI), 40,000 staff from nursing homes who worked on the Covid-19 frontline have yet to receive the payment (worth €1000). 

CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland, Tadhg Daly, said, "We received a phenomenal response when we asked staff to articulate their frustration having waited over half a year for a payment promised in recognition of their heroic efforts during the panemic. We asked for 1,000 letters from staff to coincide with the payment being €1,000 but over 2,000 put pen to paper. 

"Staff spoke of the extreme pressures they and colleagues were placed under, the traumatic loss of residents, the very serious emotional toll they experienced, exhaustion as they worked around-the-clock to protect residents, and the impact of Covid19 continuing to live with them day-to-day. 

"The sacrifices undertaken by staff in nursing homes were phenomenal and immense. Yet the promised recognition has been considerably soured when we are nine months down the road and it is still to be paid to staff from private and voluntary nursing homes. Staff working in State healthcare settings have received it yet it is shocking and damning that after nine months, it has not found a means to roll it out to private and voluntary nursing home staff and others." 

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has been quizzed in the Dáil several times regarding the delay, most recently in the past week.

In a Dáil session on October 4, he said , "Firstly, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.

"The HSE and the Department are currently examining progressing the rollout to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. This measure will be ring fenced to staff working ordinarily onsite in Covid-19 exposed healthcare environments.

"It is hoped that information will be published shortly for those certain non-HSE/Section 38 healthcare employees that are covered by the Government Decision and the process available to their employers to implement this measure for their eligible staff." 

On October 6, Minister Donnelly said, "Rolling out the payment to eligible employees of those specific non-HSE/Section 38 organisations covered by the government decision is a complex task, particularly as these employees are not normally paid by the public health service, duplicate payments need to be avoided, and there are many organisations to be covered, but this work is being given priority attention, and it is expected that timeframes will become clearer in due course." 

Mr Daly continued: "The letters articulate immense frustration, anger and upset being experienced by staff in private and voluntary nursing homes because of the extreme delay in rolling this payment out. A general feeling coming from the letters is staff feel disrespected by the State. 

"It is appalling that the Department of Health dwelled on this matter for over half a year before deciding a tender process would be required. We hope the feelings articulated by staff will provide impetus for the payment process to be expedited and they will receive due recognition.”