HIQA receives 300 complaints about nursing homes in five months

One family member said they were npt told a nursing home had a suspected case of the virus when they admitted their relative. File picture. 

According to freedom of information files, Hiqa got nearly 300 complaints relating to Covid-19 in nursing homes between the end of February and last month.

Staff who tested positive for the virus, but had no symptoms, were asked to continue to work, according to one complaint.

They include concerns about a lack of PPE and poor social-distancing, and the effect the visiting ban had on residents' mental health.

It is claimed a resident escaped from a nursing home for a number of hours, without staff knowing, and when they returned, there were no measures in place to isolate them.

There were also concerns about two residents transferring from a unit that was coronavirus-positive to one that was Covid-negative.

Complaints were made about numerous coronavirus deaths in some centres, a lack of testing and low staffing levels due to outbreaks.

One family member said they were npt told a nursing home had a suspected case of the virus when they admitted their relative.

Five staff in scrubs got into a taxi together after they left a nursing home, it's claimed.

A resident was allegedly neglected during the pandemic - they were left in bed, missed meals, had no clean clothes and had several falls.

Hiqa said where it has concerns about residents' safety, or the care they are getting, nursing home providers need to take immediate action.

The HSE said private entities account for 80% of nursing home beds in Ireland - but it has assisted them throughout the pandemic.