Staff at nursing home had no garda vetting

Two nursing homes in Cork have been rapped for employing staff that had no Garda vetting, and having premises inadequate to allow care to be given “in a dignified and respectful manner”.

The findings are contained in some of the 15 Health Information and Quality Authority inspection reports on residential centres for older people.

In Rochestown Nursing Home, two inspections last July and in January revealed staff had been recruited without any vetting, as required by law.

“The provider was made aware that this was a major non-compliance in January 2017 and assured inspectors that she had commenced the process of applying for Garda vetting.

“Staff without vetting were removed from duties until satisfactory vetting was in place,” the report stated. “However, on the 5 July 2017, inspectors found staff had continued to be recruited and employed without satisfactory vetting.”

Hiqa also noted that the administrator was a pension agent for a number of residents. A review of a sample of records found pensions were collected and then paid directly into the nursing home account.

However, the Department of Social Protection requires the full amount to be paid to the resident before any deductions can be made.

“However, these residents did not have personal bank accounts and inspectors saw that sums of money were being paid into, and held within, the nursing home account and not in a separate resident account. The provider deducted the money required for their care and generally returned the money to the resident in block payments. This goes against the requirements of social welfare which requires the balance of payment to be lodged to an interest-bearing account for the resident. It also requires that there should be clear separation between the residents’ account and that of the service,” the report said.

Nazareth House nursing home in Mallow was also inspected by Hiqa and found to be non-compliant in a number of areas.

Inspectors found the design and layout of the premises “posed significant challenges to staff to provide care in a dignified and respectful manner” due to the multi-occupancy nature of the bedrooms, the limited access to suitable sanitary facilities, unsuitable storage for residents’ personal property, and lack of general storage for equipment.

“Residents are predominantly accommodated in large multi-occupancy bedrooms, some of which do not have separate entrances and can only be accessed by walking through other bedrooms. There are inadequate sanitary facilities to meet the needs of residents living in the centre, with the extensive use of commodes that are stored at residents’ bedsides,” said the report.

Inspectors also noted the design and layout did not support good infection prevention control practice, particularly in limiting cross-contamination in the event of disease outbreak.