Hiqa finds fire safety issues and low staff levels in nursing homes
Poor fire safety and low staff levels were among the concerns health inspectors found at residential centres for older people in Cork.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) published some 38 inspection reports on residential care facilities.
While generally, centres were found to be meeting the needs of their residents, inspectors found evidence of non-compliance in 15 centres.
These included a number of issues in several Cork nursing homes.
Midleton Community Hospital, run by the HSE, was found to be non-compliant with nine regulations, with inspectors concerned about the governance and management at the home.
Following an unannounced inspection on October 31, 2019, inspectors reported that the HSE "has repeatedly failed to implement its own plans to improve the quality of life for residents by definitely taking adequate action".
Inspectors found that staffing levels were inadequate. To cover staff gaps, the centre was reliant on a role called ’’the multi-task attendant’’ which required a staff member to move between caring for residents and cleaning at different times during a shift.
Concerns were also raised that some residents’’ belongings were being stored in bags in linen rooms due to a lack of space, while large, multi-occupancy rooms "did not afford personal space, privacy or choice" to those residing in them.
Inspectors also highlighted concerns about infection control, describing sections of the centre as "not sufficiently clean".
An inspection at Cobh Community Hospital found the facility to be non-compliant with ten regulations.
This included poor fire safety, with the inspector not assured the fire safety arrangements were adequate to ensure prompt, safe and effective evacuation of residents in case of a fire. Among the issues noted was that a fire door to a staff office was propped open with a chair, laundry trolleys were across the swing of a fire compartment door and the regulator on an oxygen cylinder was noted to have an out of date label for returning for service.
The inspector was not assured that adequate means of escape were provided. For example, an alternative escape route required evacuating residents to go up one flight of stairs and down another. This would be physically demanding for staff, the inspector said.
The centre was provided with two separate, unlinked fire detection and alarm systems. Alarm panels and bells were not interconnected, with a reliance on internal phones to raise the alarm.
Responding, the care provider said work has commenced on addressing the issues identified by the fire inspector, though progress slowed down due to an outbreak of influenza.
An unannounced inspection in Bandon Community Hospital on December 11, 2019, found it to be non-compliant with nine regulations. Residents were left with little interaction for hours on end, according to inspectors.
Conna Nursing Home, near Mallow, was found to be non-compliant with seven regulations, with inspectors finding there was an insufficient number of staff to respond to residents’’ needs.
The unannounced inspection on October 29, 2019, also found that while residents enjoyed a good quality of life, there were issues with fire safety management, succession planning, maintenance of records, communication and issues regarding residents’’ rights.
