Just 22 of 48 nursing homes inspected by Hiqa fully or mainly compliant with regulations

Hiqa found 11 centres not complaint with four or more standards and 15 non-compliant with three or fewer standards.

Fewer than half of 48 nursing homes inspected by health watchdog Hiqa were fully or substantially compliant with inspections against national standards, new reports show.

Concerns varied in the level of seriousness but included fire safety, residents’ rights, staff training, number of staff, quality of the buildings, infection control, and nutrition.

The Health Information and Quality Authority on Thursday published reports on residential centres for older people carried out between February 2022 and June this year.

Inspectors found "22 centres were either fully compliant or substantially compliant with the national standards and regulations". Among the remaining centres, 11 were found not complaint with four or more standards, while 15 were non-compliant with three or fewer standards.

St Teresa's Nursing Home in Cashel, Co Tipperary was assessed against 16 standards. They were found not compliant in four, substantially compliant in eight, and fully complaint with four standards, although residents said it is “a nice place” to live.

Chief inspectors had not received notifications around use of restraints, and inspectors raised concerns around the number of staff on duty at night.

“Given the low level of staffing at night time, assurances were not available that all residents could be evacuated in a timely manner in the event of a fire,” the report said.

It recommended that gaps in Garda vetting in one staff member’s file be remedied. Inspectors found no issues with visiting, but that residents did not have full access to all common areas in the building.

The Ennis Road Care Facility in Co Clare also received an unannounced inspection. It was assessed across 12 standards, and found complaint with 10 of these including food, healthcare, and residents’ rights.

Concerns were raised around care plans, however, with this marked "not compliant", with inspectors finding: “Some examples were seen of generic text, and the same information across a number of residents' records.” 

They found a new person in charge, with new policies, guidelines, and audits running compared to previous inspections during the pandemic.

“Inspectors noted that the audit arrangements had identified that improvements were required in relation to recording relevant information in care plans, and training for staff had commenced,” the report states, with the governance standard marked "substantially compliant" as a result.

• The inspection reports can be read on the Hiqa.ie website.