The Covid-19 outbreak in the privately run, Dealgan House Nursing Home in Dundalk was one of the worst in the country at the peak of the pandemic, according to The Irish Times.
The outbreak led to the deaths of 22 residents, forcing the care home to urge the Minister for Health at the time, Simon Harris and Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan to intervene.
Due to the scale of the outbreak, the HSE managers considering calling in Army personnel to assist in a deep-clean of the home and administer fluids to dehydrated patients due to staff shortages.
The Irish Times reports that a note from a teleconference call on April 13th says that HSE staff and local doctors, consultants and hospital management considered “exploring the sourcing of support staff from the Red Cross and the Defence Forces", before adding: "but there are issues surrounding this”.
At the time, the homes' 104 staff had been reduced to just 34.
Four days later, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) hospital group took over the running of the home, remaining their until May when the outbreak ended.
A spokesperson for Dealgan House confirmed on Friday that the home has not had a resident test positive for Covid-19 since April 22nd and the HSE or RCSI have not been involved since May.
Louth TD Fergus O'Dows has called for an inquiry into the matter "so it never happens again."
