Nursing home residents hadn’t bathed in a month

A closure order was served on a private nursing home after a surprise visit by inspectors found that some residents did not have a shower or bath for a month.

In some cases residents at the Owen Riff Nursing Home on Camp St in Oughterard, Co Galway, were not served breakfast until almost midday.

Out-of-date nursing documentation, poor file management, and a shortage of staff, with one care assistant dealing with 22 residents at one stage during fire training, were also among the concerns highlighted by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) in a report published yesterday.

Hiqa had previously published three reports on the nursing home, the first in Jun 2010.

A fourth inspection took place on Apr 20 and 21 to check on measures taken to address concerns raised on previous visits.

However, the surprise inspection found that of the eight specific environment risk issues, only one had been addressed. Of the 11 issues marked for “immediate action” — such as medication management concerns — none had been addressed.

The Owen Riff Nursing Home opened in 2003 and, at the time of the last inspection, had 22 residents, some of whom have dementia.

The home’s owners, Riverside Nursing Home Ltd, recently withdrew an appeal against a Hiqa closure order and the facility is now under the care of the HSE.

An inspection by Hiqa last March found 44 actions that needed to be met to bring the centre into compliance with required regulations, including mandatory fire safety training and moving and handling training, and in the protection of vulnerable adults.

Inspectors on the April visit found a series of issues which caused serious concern, including:

* The fitness of the person in charge, who was “disorganised” and who had “difficulty getting information in a timely manner”;

* Out-of-date nursing documentation, poor file management, and a shortage of staff, with one care assistant dealing with 22 residents at one stage during fire training;

* Residents having their breakfast as late as 11.40am, then waiting an hour or more to be served. Some residents were at risk of losing weight;

* Residents in un-ironed or dirty clothes, with the “bowel/shower” book noting that the majority of residents had not had a bath or shower in the previous month, with “sponge” recorded instead;

* One resident calling for assistance was not responded to;

* A nurse on night duty worked 14 hours without a break after an agency nurse did not show up;

* Some hot water in hand basins was scalding to touch, two ground floor doors were not secure, and cleaning chemicals were stored in toilets and on trolleys, as well as in the laundry which also stored general equipment including dirty mops.

The inspection also uncovered major concerns over file management, risk assessment, and care plans, many of which were out-of-date. One resident had four falls, two resulting in head injuries, but no care plan or interventions were put in place.

There were also concerns over residents with wounds and ulcers, the use of chemical restraints, and “a poor quality of life” for residents. The prescribing and administering of medication was also awry.

Inspectors were so concerned that they ordered all new admissions to cease from Apr 21.

A week later, an interim order was made at Galway District Court cancelling the home’s registration. The owners appealed but withdrew the action on Jul 31, confirming the cancellation of the registration.