Communication to Families: 1st March 2022
As the restrictions continue to ease and , thankfully , some normality is returning , it is understandable that people expect a full return to day services and we are aware that the HSE has an expectation that this will be the case by March .
Whilst we do expect to have most of our day services fully operational by this date , we will not be in a position to return to pre covid levels of transport. I want to apologise for this lack of service and acknowledge the impact that it is having on some of our service users and their families.
While we are experiencing difficulty with staff absent due to covid , the significant barrier to returning fully is the lack of capacity within our transport.
During the pandemic, we had a significant number of retirees from the Transport Department and our transport partner, Vantastic, are currently experiencing difficulty in recruiting staff to fill these gaps .
We are working closely together to resolve this situation and have carried out a full review of all of our routes to ensure the most efficient use of available transport.
The current position is that we are operating with just over half the capacity that we had before the pandemic.
We will increase this to just over three quarters of pre covid capacity over the next ten weeks and , at the same time , we will explore alternative options to breach the gap.
I assure you that we will continue to do all that we can to fully restore the transport service in the quickest possible time.
Yours sincerely,
David Dunne
Director of Operations, St. Michael's House