Majority of nursing homes fail to comply with basic regulations

The majority of the Hiqa-regulated nursing homes in the watchdog’s latest list of inspection reports failed to fully comply with basic regulations.

Of the 49 reports, evidence of non-compliance was found in 32.

One of the worst reports was on the Teach Altra nursing home in Scarteen, Newmarket, North Cork following a significant Covid-19 outbreak there earlier in the year.

Hiqa has since found widespread non-compliance, with the home being only fully compliant in seven of the 25 regulations it was assessed on the June 1 inspection.

Hiqa noted the home had — at the time of the latest inspection — failed to conduct a review into what happened in the outbreak.

Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) recommends all centres hit by Covid-19 outbreaks should carry out a post-outbreak review to “identify learning and put in place remedial actions to improve the service”.

Among other findings, inspectors discovered a number of anomalies with medicines.

One resident was, for example, being given medication twice a day despite the fact that, according to Hiqa, “there was no corresponding prescription to support the administration of this medication twice a day”.

Hiqa noted: “This unannounced inspection was a follow-up inspection to the non-compliance findings in February 2021.

While some improvements were noted, there continued to be significant concerns.

“Immediate actions were issued relating to fire safety precautions and identified health and safety risk.

“Repeated non-compliance was identified in regulations associated with assessments and care planning, staff supervision, staff training, use of restrictive practice, and some infection control practices.”

Hiqa added: “The last inspection identified that the monitoring and oversight of the centre by management was not effective in all areas.

“This continued to be evident.”

In the post-inspection compliance plan it later gave Hiqa, the home addressed the various compliance issues.

For example, the home said there would be refresher medication management training, and the post-Covid outbreak review will be undertaken.

As well as ad hoc inspections of compliance with fire safety and a report generated for future reference, any gaps in required training were to be addressed.

In addition, staff supervision processes have been reviewed and restrictive practice — such as the use of bed rails — was to be reviewed and managed in line with best practice.

Other homes inspected in Cork included St Joseph's Community Hospital and Bandon Community Hospital.

St Joseph’s, in Millstreet, which is run by the HSE, was only fully compliant in six of the 17 regulations it was inspected for in an unannounced inspection on July 8.

Bandon Community Hospital, which is also run by the HSE, failed to fully comply with seven of the 14 regulations it was assessed for on June 30.