Staff in pandemic-hit disability centre had not had Covid-19 training - Hiqa

HIQA inspectors found that an annual review of the quality and safety of care had not been completed by the provider in the previous period.

A HSE-run centre for people with disabilities had not trained all its staff in relation to Covid-19, despite the centre having experienced a "significant" outbreak.

The inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) of the Cherry Orchard Hospital in Dublin 10 found five areas of non-compliance. It had 19 residents at the time of the inspection last June.

A new proposed provider had been identified for the centre but had not yet submitted an application to the office of the chief inspector to be registered as the new provider. The coronavirus pandemic was identified as a factor in the delay.

According to the report: "There was some evidence that residents and their family representatives were consulted with, and communicated with, about decisions regarding their care and the running of the centre.

"However, there had been no formal communication with residents or their families, in more than six months regarding the proposed transitions of residents from their current homes."

According to the inspection report: "At the time of this inspection, the centre was emerging from a significant Covid-19 outbreak. One of the centre's two units had been significantly impacted by the pandemic with a considerable number of residents and staff having tested positive for the virus."

It said each of these residents and staff had recovered at the time of this inspection. The second unit had no confirmed cases.

"It was of concern to the inspector that since the pandemic restrictions had been implemented, limited measures had been taken to ensure that individual residents were engaged in meaningful activities in the centre.

"There were no formal plans in place, for the lifting of current restrictions in line with national guidelines, to increase residents' access to meaningful activities in a planned and safe manner in the community."

Hiqa said training had been provided for staff to improve outcomes for residents.

"However, records available on the day of inspection indicated that a number of staff were overdue to attend mandatory training and that a small number of staff had yet to complete training for Covid-19.

"Formal supervision for staff was not being undertaken for some staff in line with the frequency proposed in the provider's policy."

Inspectors also found that an annual review of the quality and safety of care had not been completed by the provider in the previous period.

In addition, unannounced visits to assess the quality and safety of the service had not been completed within the last six months, as per the requirements of the regulations.

Hiqa also noted that social care workers had been employed by the provider through an external agency but at the end of March these staff withdrew their service, while a vehicle used by the centre to transport residents for outings was no longer available for use by the centre.

Hiqa has published 23 inspection reports on designated centres for people with disabilities today and found a good level of compliance with the regulations and standards in 17 centres.

*www.hiqa.ie