Danny Healy-Rae demands transparent COVID review over elderly care
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in support of the motion, welcoming people in the gallery and condemning the ostracism of those who raised concerns during COVID. He called for an open and transparent review of what happened during COVID, emphasising the impact on elderly patients, families and whistleblowers.
Danny Healy-Rae opened by supporting the motion and welcoming visitors in the gallery, including a group from Guinea Willow. He said those who raised issues during the pandemic were vilified despite acting in the public interest.
He described how people who spoke out lost homes and families and suffered significant mental hardship. He criticised the way whistleblowers and concerned citizens were treated and expressed regret at their ostracism.
He stated his agreement with calls for an open and transparent review of the pandemic period. He said a full account is needed to understand how and why decisions were made and to provide answers to families and the public.
He spoke urgently about elderly people being left without family contact for two to three weeks until they became very ill, and about relatives being admitted only when patients were unconscious. He described this as deeply hurtful and said it must be examined in any review to explain what happened to vulnerable patients and their loved ones.
Support for motion and gallery visitors
Danny Healy-Rae opened by supporting the motion and welcoming visitors in the gallery, including a group from Guinea Willow. He said those who raised issues during the pandemic were vilified despite acting in the public interest.
Allegations of ostracism and personal hardship
He described how people who spoke out lost homes and families and suffered significant mental hardship. He criticised the way whistleblowers and concerned citizens were treated and expressed regret at their ostracism.
Call for an open, transparent COVID review
He stated his agreement with calls for an open and transparent review of the pandemic period. He said a full account is needed to understand how and why decisions were made and to provide answers to families and the public.
Concerns about treatment of elderly patients and families
He spoke urgently about elderly people being left without family contact for two to three weeks until they became very ill, and about relatives being admitted only when patients were unconscious. He described this as deeply hurtful and said it must be examined in any review to explain what happened to vulnerable patients and their loved ones.
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Transcript
Thank you very much. I, too, wish to support the motion and welcome the people in the gallery here that when they were doing good they were ostracized and they were vilified and they were actually working in the public's interest and I regret that very much. And we had eloquently talked about how some of these people lost their homes and lost their families and suffered an awful lot of mental hardship. Before I finish I want to welcome my group here from Guinea Willow up in the gallery there from Guinea Willow and that more and we hope you enjoy the doll here today. Just to continue, I know that these people wouldn't have raised the issues that they raised and I won't go into the individual ones or that they knew in their heart and soul that they were doing good and that's what they, to protect people that were being hurt in many different ways. And I, too, like Matthew McGrath, certainly want an open and transparent review of what happened during COVID and one of the things that hurt me to the core of my heart was where elderly people, their sons and daughters and their family members weren't left in to see them for two to three weeks before they got really bad. And the worst thing about it all was then when they were unconscious for the last few hours, when they didn't know anyone at all, everyone and anyone was let in then. Them were the kind of things and we need to find out what was the purpose for that because it certainly wasn't to aid or help the whole person that was sick because they didn't know what in the God was happening to them. Many of these people had their senses and they were left there to die without anyone being left in to see them and that's hard to me still to this day and we know until we have a transparent account of what happened or how that happened.