Publication
Joint letter from the CMO and CNO to nurses, midwives and doctors
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
To all nurses, midwives, and doctors,
This time last year, we jointly wrote to you to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for your work in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. One year on, those sentiments cannot be reiterated strongly enough.
Your continued individual and collective efforts, in very challenging circumstances, have served to protect public health and to maintain access to services across all parts of our healthcare system. In the delivery of both COVID and non-COVID services, patients and their families have benefitted from your empathy, skill, and care.
Throughout this pandemic, you have met the many challenges we have faced constructively. In particular, you have demonstrated an ability to progress improvements to our healthcare system and to deliver new and successful services such as our national vaccination and booster programmes. Your efforts have enabled us to protect our core priorities of protecting the vulnerable, protecting health and social care services, and protecting education and childcare services.
Although we had all hoped that COVID-19 would place less strain on our health service into 2022, the recent emergence of the Omicron variant requires us to prepare once again to respond effectively in the coming year. While the very high levels of vaccine and booster uptake by the public have afforded us a great deal of protection and undoubtedly saved lives, the winter period will be a challenging one for all those involved in providing health care.
It is for this reason that we must ask again for your continued efforts in protecting our priorities and in championing our key public health messages in your daily work.
These are:
- the importance of continued uptake of the vaccine and booster doses
- knowing the symptoms of COVID-19, isolating at home and seeking a test as appropriate
- minimising in person contacts, especially if planning on meeting older and vulnerable relatives during the holiday period
- understanding the importance of the basic public health measures including maintaining physical distancing, washing hands frequently, wearing a face mask, meeting outdoors where possible and ensuring good ventilation indoors
As we enter our second winter with the additional burden of COVID-19, we especially recognise the commitment and dedication of those whose work requires them to be away from loved ones at this time of year, working on the wards, in practices, in vaccination centres, and giving care on the front lines.
We are indebted to you, our colleagues, for the resilience and perseverance you continue to display in leading our response. We will continue to support you in responding to this pandemic together.
We would like to wish each and every one of you a safe and peaceful Christmas and festive season, with every good wish for the New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health
Ms Rachel Kenna, Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health
