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Out-of-date nursing documentation, poor file management, and a shortage of staff, with one care assistant dealing with 22 residents at one stage during fire training,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