Disability centre 'could not assure continuity of care' during Covid outbreak 

A number of staff went on 'unexpected leave' during the Covid outbreak, Hiqa said in the report on the Valleyview centre in Wicklow.

A disability service provider in Wicklow could not assure inspectors that continuity of care and support was provided to residents during an outbreak of Covid-19, a new report has found.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) inspected the Valleyview centre in rural Wicklow, operated by Sunbeam House Services, in an unannounced visit on February 16.

The inspection report states that the recent outbreak of the infectious disease in the centre, during which three residents died, had seen the residents go through a "very difficult and sad period in their life".

“Overall, the provider had managed the outbreak and residents were protected through a number of infection protection control systems and strategies in place,” the report says.

“However, some of the provider’s strategies, in particular the centre’s local contingency plans and protocols for self-isolating, required improvements so that they were more comprehensive in nature and provided better preparedness and planning.” 

A number of staff went on “unexpected leave” during the outbreak and the provider had sought to recruit agency workers in line with their contingency plan.

However, appropriately skilled agency staff were not available at the time.

The provider redeployed day service staff from within the organisation to the centre.

The inspector acknowledged while the provider “responded appropriately”, it had “not assessed the effectiveness of staffing the contingency and preparedness measures”.

The report was one of 22 published by Hiqa today, 13 of which were found to have non-compliances with regulations and standards.

In a Redwood Extended Care Facility centre in Meath, the inspector was not assured that residents’ individual needs could be met.

“The inspector found that despite the high ratio of staff, staff's efforts to separate the residents and do individual activities and the consistent interventions of multidisciplinary supports, residents’ right to a safe emotional as well as physical environment, were infringed,” the report said.

There was also a need for “further review” into the use of significant restrictive practices to ensure they were last resort.

“Some improvements were also necessary [for] access to comprehensive and suitable assessments for all residents, which would assist in identifying their needs and personal goals to support them in their daily lives,” the inspector added.

In a RehabCare centre, the safeguarding policies and processes in place to protect residents required improvement.

In a Rehab Group centre, the provider had failed to create an appropriate isolation plan to support residents and staff, if an outbreak of Covid-19 was to occur.

Inspectors also found evidence of good practice in several facilities.

In a Western Care Association centre in Mayo, the staff ensured residents had meaningful activities to engage in, and in response to the cognitive needs of one resident, staff often used memory books and photos to re-orientate this resident to person, time, and place.

Residents in a St John of God Community Services centre in Louth enjoyed a good quality of life, the inspector found. They had a large polytunnel in the back garden where residents were growing vegetables, fruits, and plants.