Galway schools are playing a vital role in the fight against Covid-19 and deserve every recognition and praise, according to the chief executive of Saolta which runs the local public hospitals.
Tony Canavan said employees have responded swiftly and positively since the schools reopened after the summer break to ensure their premises were fully compliant with Covid-19 guidelines.
He said great credit was due to every member of staff - the maintenance workers, the teachers, the special needs assistants, the administration and cleaning staff, and the boards of management who were doing "hugely important" work.
He stated that the schools had been at the forefront in protecting students from Covid-19 since September and the importance of this role must not be underestimated.
"All of them are now doing what the healthcare workers were doing in March. It is hugely important," said Mr Canavan, the head of the Saolta University Healthcare Group which runs seven public hospitals on five sites in Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, and Donegal.
He said the fact that there had not been a major rise in infection rates since pupils returned to the classroom is testament to the hard work of school staff.
"It is very important what we are seeing in the schools, how the school communities responded so well and they didn't know what was coming down the track.
"The incidence of infection has not increased significantly since the schools opened in September. All the employees are working so hard, they have measures in place to manage it [Covid-19]."
The Galway based CEO outlined that the HSE in association with the Department of Education has provided two key supports for schools to strengthen the processes in place to protect the safety of staff and children during the pandemic. These is a dedicated telephone number for school principals and dedicated school teams to support these school heads.
The dedicated telephone number known as the "HSE live Covid-19 principal school line", is open seven days a week from 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday and from 10am to 4.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays. School principals can call this number if they need assistance from the HSE's public health department in relation to a confirmed case of Covid-19 within their school. The operator will take basic details and pass these on to the relevant public health department. The service aims to provide a same day response.
Mr Canavan explained that the dedicated school teams provide support to principals if a Covid-19 positive case is identified in a school. These multi-disciplinary groups, which operate in each HSE area, are led by public health professionals and are supplemented by inspectors from the Department of Education as well as other staff reassigned from the health services. Inspectors will bring their Public health team members will take calls and telephone schools following the identification of a positive Covid-19 case. Having been trained in public health protocols, they will undertake the schools’ component of the initial risk assessment. They may inform schools of any further actions as required. Assigned inspectors and other team members will respond to queries from the HSE live principals telephone line and any inquiries to the Department of Public Health.
Mr Canavan said the unified approach being taken by parents and schools and the positive response from the public reminded him of the "kind of community coming together" which took place in March/April at the start of the pandemic.
