Some terminally ill patients cannot receive end-of-life care from the HSE in Waterford due to a "staffing crisis", according to leaked correspondence.
The crisis is affecting palliative care provided to people who wish to die at home, with a number of staff having been ruled out due to coronavirus and other illnesses, causing the staff shortage in palliative community care staff.
Staff at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) have been informed that the HSE South East Community Healthcare palliative care team could accept referrals for "actively dying patients" only.
However, the issue does not affect the hospital's specialised wing for palliative care, a spokesman for UHW confirmed.
When contacted, the HSE confirmed there is a temporary shortage of specialist nursing staff within the care team which arose nine days ago and which it believes will be resolved within the next week.
The original internal email sent to staff at UHW offered an apology for the sudden drop in the service.
"Due to the staffing crisis in Waterford Community Palliative Care Service, we can only accept referrals for actively dying patients," it said.
Coordination
Sinn Féin health spokesman and Waterford TD David Culliane said there needs to be "absolute coordination" between hospital and regional HSE management to provide the service.
"Nobody can be sitting back waiting for things to return to normal next week when patients are getting turned away [from getting care], it needs to be all hands on deck to make sure all services resume."
Patients who are in the care of different medical departments may be referred to the palliative care team when diagnosed with a terminal illness.
According to the HSE, palliative care can be provided "at any stage" in a person's illness and doesn't have to be at the end of a person's life.
End of life care can often begin several months before a person dies however, medical sources said 'actively dying' refers to what may be only a handful of days before a person passes.
The email's writer then directed recipients to contact certain staff directly to discuss referrals. "We apologise for this change in our service and I will be in contact as soon as this crisis is averted."
A spokeswoman for HSE South East Community Healthcare (SECH) said the group "wishes to advise, with regret, that there was a temporary reduction in specialist nursing staff" within Waterford's palliative care team due to "unforeseen and unavoidable" circumstances.
She added: "It is anticipated that services within this team will return to normal levels within the next week. In the interim access to the service will be prioritised based on clinical need.
"All available supports and services are and will continue to be offered to patients and their families."
She said that palliative advice and support remains available to healthcare professionals with the aim of supporting the management of palliative care patients outside of the acute hospital setting.
