PATIENTS being discharged from hospitals into care homes during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic was not a "substantial cause" of virus outbreaks, according to new research.
The study also found that the number of people discharged from Northern Ireland hospitals to care homes decreased during the first Covid-19 surge compared to the same period in 2019.
Research by Belfast trust consultant cardiologist Dr Niall Herity looked at data for discharges, as well as considering if there was any correlation between discharges from hospitals and infection rates in care homes.
But no correlation could be identified.
Questions had been raised earlier this year as to whether there was a policy of accelerating discharges from hospitals to free up inpatient capacity during the first surge, and whether this caused Covid-19 outbreaks in care homes.
But the research, commissioned by the Department of Health, found a "decline in the numbers of people discharged from hospitals, including to care homes, from mid to late March onwards, reflecting an overall decline in emergency department attendances and hospital admissions".
The study examined two specific weeks in 2020 when the number of people discharged to care homes after an unscheduled hospital admission was slightly higher than the typical weekly average.
Among 465 patients discharged to care homes during these two weeks, five people tested positive within two weeks of discharge and 460 did not.
The research found that "this does not support a hypothesis that this group of people was a substantial cause of Covid-19 outbreaks in care homes".
The report also states that findings do not support a view that "ministerial or departmental communications drove consultants’ discharge decision-making during the first pandemic surge, including decisions to discharge people to care homes".
Health Minister Robin Swann said: "Care homes remain on the frontline in the battle against Covid-19.
"This research complements my Department’s Rapid Learning Initiative which also examined the first surge in the sector.
"It is vital that we keep adding to our learning as we continue to support care homes."
