Motion: Clinical Analysis of Discharge Patterns

“This Council rejects the findings within the report on Clinical Analysis of Discharge Patterns from HSC Hospitals in Northern Ireland during early 2020 and any Link with COVID-19 Outbreaks in Care Homes, and believes the scope was deliberately narrow to ensure a positive response to the Minister for Health, absolving his senior officials from any responsibility in respect of controversial instructions around discharges, and furthermore:

• Condemns the failure to include important and highly relevant issues for consideration around Personal protective equipment (PPE); COVID-19 testing; care home staffing, pay and conditions: finance /funding and visiting arrangements, and demands an explanation on why these factors were excluded
• Condemns the failure to include regulation and inspections of care homes and the Chief Medical Officer’s Direction to the RQIA standing down care home inspections, and the manner in which this came about following a request from Silver Command
• Demands full disclosure on who set the review scope
• Restates this council’s position demanding an independent public inquiry into this matter, having been the first and so far, only local authority to do so.