Comment: ‘Outbreak’ alert from HSE not good enough

The email from the HSE Dublin North East Hospital Comms team dropped at 5.06pm yesterday (Monday).

The subject line was clear: Visiting restrictions introduced at Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan.

The request was to get the message out on our “news bulletins and shared across your social media channels to ensure that patients, families and visitors are aware of the temporary visiting arrangements.”

The statement said that Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan has introduced restrictions on visiting across the hospital “with immediate effect following an outbreak.”

“Visiting will only be permitted on compassionate grounds and must be arranged in advance with the relevant Ward Manager.

“The restrictions are being introduced as a precautionary measure to help protect patients, staff and visitors.

“The situation will be reviewed on Friday, 14th August and a further update will be provided following that review.

“The Hospital appreciates the understanding and cooperation of patients, families and visitors while these measures are in place.”

Naturally, the one piece of information missing was the one piece everybody was asking about. What was the nature of the outbreak?

Follow up requests to the HSE and the hospital itself on Monday evening went unanswered. It also prevented a difficulty in publishing, as the most obvious detail was left hanging in the air.

However, the fact that Our Lady's was now all but closed to visitors meant it was newsworthy and most definitely in the public interest.

The HSE (and the Meath Chronicle) were immediately accused of scaremongering, withholding information and being alarmist. And that's perfectly understandable.

Anecdotally, people with loved ones in the hospital suggested that Covid was the culprit. Sources at the hospital have confirmed it.

But others asked, perhaps with tongue in cheek, if it was ebola, leprosy or scurvy.... it's exactly what you expect to happen in an information vacuum.

A further email this morning at 8.12 to Meath Chronicle from the HSE said they had seen our request and would be “in touch shortly” and “were awaiting confirmation of further details”.

At the time of going to print on Tuesday afternoon, some 20 hours on from their original email, nothing arrived. At 22.50, still nothing.

Why the delay? If Covid, why withhold it when it could be explained by virtue of the fact that Covid has never fully gone away and cases continue to be detected. The global public health emergency officially ended in May 2023, however, that does not mean it has disappeared or ceased being a concern. It is an ongoing health issue that requires long-term management as the virus continues to circulate worldwide. We can do that.

What certainly needs to be managed and avoided at all costs is causing the unnecessary fear, anxiety and disquiet that engulfed the country for two years. And that is especially true when it comes to our vulnerable patients in hospital and their families.

Where is the HSE's Open Disclosure policy?: - Communicating with a patient, service user, or their family in an open, honest, timely, and compassionate way when something goes wrong in healthcare and causes, or may have caused, harm.

Care Champions - a family run advocacy group for all people who need care support in the community reacted angrily to the visiting restrictions.

“It is disgraceful that in 2026, we are still seeing Covid-era visiting restrictions being rolled out at the drop of a hat.

“Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan has introduced immediate hospital-wide visiting restrictions due to an outbreak, limiting access strictly to “compassionate grounds” arranged in advance with ward managers.

“While protecting patients is most important, nobody loses more than family members when infection control loses, cutting off vulnerable, sick people from their loved ones causes immense hardship. It is shameful that we are still having to campaign for the legalisation of Care Partners.

Family members are not just “visitors.” They are advocates. They are essential emotional and physical support.

They know their loved ones best and notice when something is wrong long before anyone else does.

“Locking family out isolates patients when they need support the most. It is long overdue for care partners to be legally recognised as essential members of a patient's care team, ensuring no one is left to face a hospital stay alone.”

Let's hope these restrictions are short lived, patients and staff stay well but that it serves as a reminder that transparency, honesty and common sense are applied in these situations.

Gone are the day forever when people will tolerate standing outside hospital windows staring in at frightened loved ones.