69 residents died in just two nursing homes during first Covid-19 outbreak, report shows

Reports published by Hiqa include an inspection of the Ryevale Nursing Home in Leixlip in Co Kildare, where 98 residents tested positive for Covid-19, 40 of whom passed away due to confirmed or suspected coronavirus infection. File Picture: istock

The "devastating" toll of Covid-19 is highlighted in new inspection reports which show 69 residents died in just two nursing homes during the first outbreak, and that the pandemic triggered a staffing crisis at another centre where four people died from the coronavirus.

Reports published by HIQA include an inspection of the Ryevale Nursing Home in Leixlip in Co Kildare, where 98 residents tested positive for Covid-19, 40 of whom passed away due to confirmed or suspected coronavirus infection.

"During two weeks in mid to late April 2020, the service had struggled further to maintain nurse and carer staffing levels as a large number of staff contracted Covid-19 infection," the report said.

During the outbreak, 69 staff had tested positive for Covid-19.

In Marymount Care Centre, run by Humar Limited in Westmanstown in Lucan in Dublin, the Covid-19 outbreak was described as "devastating and a body blow to the centre".

According to the report, 29 residents died due to Covid-19 during the outbreak but HIQA praised the efforts of staff both during and since the pandemic hit, stating it was "a good centre with a strong culture of person-centred care at the heart of care delivery."

"The loss of life in the centre had taken an emotional toll of staff and management, and support services had been put in place to assist all in processing what had happened," it said.

One nursing home experienced a staffing crisis in the aftermath of a Covid-19 outbreak.

The Larissa Lodge Nursing Home, run by the Mountain Lodge Nursing Home Limited at Carnamuggagh, Letterkenny, in Co Donegal, had 33 residents at the time of the inspection last August.

The unannounced risk inspection had been triggered in response to the number of concerns that had been received by the Chief Inspector during and following the Covid-19 outbreak in the centre in April during which period four residents had died.

"There had been significant changes in the designated centre following the outbreak which included a high level of staff turnover and a change of person in charge," the report by the Health Quality and Information Authority said. 

"On this inspection the inspectors found that the provider did not have adequate oversight of the service and as a result a number of regulations were found to be non-compliant."

HIQA said: "It was of particular concern that their [sic] was no contingency plan in place for a Covid-19 outbreak and no infection control committee established although they were recovered from the outbreak since mid-June 2020. This lack of preparedness put residents at an increased risk of contracting Covid-19 in the event of a future outbreak."

The staffing issue was so acute that "Inspectors also observed that there were no staff available to assist three residents who were served their meals in their rooms. As a result their meals had gone cold and two residents had fallen asleep with their uneaten cold dinners in front of them."

St Finbarr's Hospital, on Douglas Road in Cork and run by the HSE, had seen improvements since previous HIQA inspections, and there was evidence of good levels of preparedness for any Covid-19 outbreak. However, while substantially compliant, the centre still had multi-occupancy bedrooms that HIQA said compromised the privacy and dignity of those living there.

Staffing and other issues were also highlighted at the Kiltormer Nursing Home, run by D & G Nursing Home Limited in Ballinasloe in Co Galway.