Long-term care of older people in residential care settings in Ireland during waves 1 and 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons (still to be) learned

Abstract

The arrival of COVID-19 was a major shock to health systems globally and had immediate and major effects on the Irish health system (WHO, 2020, Government of Ireland, 2020). COVID-19 highlighted pre-existing deficiencies and inequalities in the health care system and broader society and resulted in many agile health system responses (Burke et al., 2020, Department of Health, 2020a, Murray, 2020). The pandemic hit during the second year of implementation of a major Irish health reform programme, known as Sláintecare – a ten-year plan to deliver universal access to timely, integrated care (Houses of the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare, 2017, Department of Health, 2018b, Department of Health, 2019).