Abandoned & Isolated..

 Boss to tell Dail of ‘dismay’. HSE blasted over protection

- Ferghal Blaney

Nursing homes were left abandoned, “isolated” and ignored by the Government as coronavirus ripped through the country, it was claimed last night.

Bosses who tried to stem the spread and protect vulnerable residents by banning visitors and bringing in virus protections were left “exasperated” as the HSE dismissed their efforts.

This is what Nursing Homes Ireland will say in a statement to the Oireachtas coronavirus committee which was seen by the Irish Mirror last night.

In the early days of the outbreak, hundreds of sick and infected patients were discharged from hospitals into nursing homes without any tests.

This is the brutal truth that TDs of the Oireachtas coronavirus committee will hear this morning from the NHI as it becomes clear deaths in nursing homes will become the defining scandal of the pandemic in Ireland.

Nursing home operators will demand Health Minister Simon Harris “immediately” introduces “a new national strategy”.