Covid-19 outbreak at MHRC not related to any prevailing conditions – Health minister

Preliminary findings from investigations into the COVID19 outbreak at the Mental Health Rehabilitation Centre-MHRC- have determined that the outbreak is unrelated to any specific set of prevailing conditions at the facility.

This is according to Health Minister, St Clair “Jimmy” Prince, who was responding to a question in Parliament this week.

Opposition leader, Dr Godwin Friday asked Prince on Tuesday whether an independent investigation would be carried out to determine why the outbreak happened. The Health Minister was also asked to reference conditions and the management systems in place at the centre.

“We will continue to monitor and ensure that we deal with this issue to the best of our ability,” Prince said, while noting that an internal investigation was carried out by officials within the Ministry of Health.

He said in response to the opposition leader that while an internal investigation does not substitute for an independent one, he is confident that those who carried out the investigation are “dispassionate, objective and have nothing to hide”.

He added that the officials have looked at the situation and have come to conclusions based on the findings of the investigation.

The COVID19 outbreak at the Mental Health facility was first reported on February 28 when 21 patients and two members of staff tested positive for the virus.

Prince said this week that a total of 104 COVID19 patients were transferred to the temporary isolation facility at Queen’s Drive, 79 of whom are males and 25 females.

He also said that some of these cases have since recovered and been taken back to the MHRC at Glen, leaving 96 positive patients still at the isolation facility.

Additionally, 10 staff members who tested positive are all in quarantine.

“We have also vaccinated, based on voluntary consent, 89 patients of the MHRC and 15 staff members of the rehabilitation centre. Currently there are 96 patients at the temporary isolation facility at Queen’s Drive and a census of 90 at the MHRC at Glen,” the Health Minister said in Parliament.

In response to the question posed, Prince said all healthcare facilities with admitting capacity under the Ministry of Health, implemented protocols as early as June 2020 to reduce the probability of the admission of a patient with COVID19.

These protocols included testing and infection and prevention control measures such as personal and protective equipment use. All admissions were also screened for COVID19 exposure through testing.

The Minister however noted that the “specificity and sensitivity of this screening and testing is known to be less than 100 per cent”.

He added that the introduction of the virus, despite the measures taken, were “unfortunately not surprising”.

Prince also noted that additional measures were introduced such as the curtailing of visitors to the facility, so as to decrease the exposure of the vulnerable population.

However, he said some of these patients were habitual runaways, which meant that the likelihood of the virus being introduced this way was also a possibility.

Prince disclosed that reusable masks were also provided to all patients in the residential facilities, including at the Mental Health Centre.

“It must however be noted that the capacity of this population to strictly adhere to mask use is reduced,” he added.

Prince said a special area for holding admissions to the facility was previously identified to allow for the incorporation of new patients from the general population.

This arrangement has since been reinforced with additional phases of admission.

The Minister assured that the local health authorities follow local, regional and international recommendations as it relates to the virus, and that protocols were being followed to ensure the safety of staff, patients, visitors and the community.

Prince said the MHRC is under the direct supervision of Sister Elizabeth Medford, an experienced health professional who is familiar with the principles of infection prevention and control.

He assured that the local health authorities will continue to enhance COVID19 protocols and management systems to mitigate and forestall any possible episodes like this one in the future.