Inspectors find financial and fire safety concerns at nursing home

Hiqa report found 10 centres non-compliant with three or fewer standards and nine centres non-compliant with four or more regulations. Picture: Sam Boal /RollingNews.ie

Financial concerns and fire safety issues have been raised about a nursing home — Aperee Living Galway — with a Hiqa inspection report finding pension funds were not safeguarded.

This comes after reports on Aperee Living Belgooly in Cork and Aperee Living Ballygunner in Waterford led to a decision to cancel their registrations.

The regulator Hiqa said its inspection of Aperee Living Galway in May found commitments made last year to address fire safety gaps had not yet started.

“Inspectors found that the provider had failed to implement the compliance plan submitted to the Chief Inspector following the last inspection in June 2022,” the report states.

“This meant that the provider had failed to take adequate steps to address the serious non-compliance found with Regulation 28: Fire precautions.” 

Potential problems included inadequate means of escape if there was to be a fire, upgrades needed for walls and ceilings, and an upgrade needed for fire detection systems.

The report shows a series of meetings had taken place in relation to governance, management and fire safety between Hiqa and the nursing home.

'Very concerned'

The report also shows inspectors were “very concerned” about how residents' money was being managed.

This included one resident's pension and money held for the estates of two deceased residents.

“An urgent compliance plan request was issued to the provider during the inspection to provide assurance to the Chief Inspector that the centre was adequately resourced to provide a safe and effective service to residents. The response from the provider failed to provide adequate assurances,” the report states.

Inspectors were concerned money was not being returned to the families of deceased residents in a robust system.

The report notes Aperee Living Galway Limited is comprised of one director.

This was also found in relation to other Aperee Living sites, Hiqa previously said in reports on other nursing homes and told the Oireachtas Health Committee.

In relation to how residents and staff interacted, the inspectors found a positive relationship existed there.

“Staff were observed to engage in positive, person-centred interactions with residents,” the inspectors reported.

“Residents told the inspector that they were well looked after and that they had a choice about how they spent their day.” 

Aperee Living Belgooly

Residents at the Belgooly nursing home are being moved by the HSE into alternative accommodation. Aperee Living Belgooly has until October 25 to appeal the decision to cancel its registration.

Meanwhile, residents at the Belgooly nursing home are being moved by the HSE into alternative accommodation. Aperee Living Belgooly has until October 25 to appeal the decision to cancel its registration.

Hiqa previously told the Oireachtas health committee it had sought assistance from a forensic accountant and referred concerns to An Garda Síochána.

A spokeswoman for the gardaí told the Irish Examiner they are assessing whether or not an investigation is warranted.

In all, Hiqa published 50 reports on Monday.

It found “good practice and compliance with the regulations and standards” in a number of nursing homes.

However, it found 10 centres non-compliant with three or fewer standards and nine centres non-compliant with four or more regulations.

The non-compliance issues included managing behaviour that is challenging, residents' rights, staffing, record-keeping, governance and management, food and nutrition as well as limiting access to visits.