Report urges overhaul of nursing home inspections

A MAJOR overhaul of the nursing home inspection process has been called for in a new report which revealed that over a third of homes in North County Dublin hadn’t been inspected in six months.

The independent study, commissioned in the aftermath of the Leas Cross scandal, also called for a change to the make-up of inspection teams so that people of varying medical expertise are involved.

The report, which hasn’t been published yet, found that inspection teams weren’t given any information on recent deaths at the 29 premises and that they didn’t have access to environmental health officer inspection reports completed on the homes.

It was discovered that only one of the inspection completed since 2003 had taken place after 6pm and that none were completed at weekends.

In their recommendations, the report’s authors found the inspection process was flawed, rather than the legislation underpinning it.

They suggest that henceforth, inspection teams should include a doctor, nurse and pharmacist and be made up of people with specific expertise in care of the elderly.

It also recommends that the HSE publish all inspection reports on its website because the right of the public to know far outweighs arguments regarding commercial sensitivity.

According to the report, the scale of nursing homes now being registered is far greater than those which existed 10 years ago and most new homes are commercial enterprises.

A HSE spokesman said a working group had been set up to look at the legal consequences of putting inspection reports on the internet. New legislation on nursing homes has also been promised by the Government.

Fine Gael’s Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd said his party had been vindicated by the report as for years, they had been campaigning for an independent inspectorate. He also accused the Government of “dragging its heels” on introducing new legislation.

“Without the existence of an independent inspectorate, more elderly people are at risk of suffering similar forms of elder abuse.

“It is about time that the Government started to ensure the protection of its elderly people and introduced the necessary legislation to establish a robust and independent nursing home inspectorate,” he said.