St Joseph’s building presents challenges

PARTS of the accommodation in St Joseph’s Geriatric Hospital in Ennis have been deemed unsuitable by an independent health watchdog, despite the expenditure of €14 million over a 13 year-period.

 

While an unannounced HIQA inspection over two days last November found residents were well cared for overall, its official inspection report identified parts of the building as unsuitable for long-term residential care, which impacts on the privacy, dignity and choice of residents.

The report stated the provider was aware the building was structurally unsuitable and did not comply with legal requirements and had previously told inspectors a plan would be developed to reduce the remaining multi-occupancy rooms to single and twin bedrooms.
“The provider stated that a plan for this development would be prepared in 2012. Since the last inspection, there has been no progress in addressing the identified deficits in the building, although the deputy person in charge said there would be a management meeting in December 2012 to discuss the building plan.

“The age, design and layout of the building presented many challenges in complying with the regulations and standards. The inspector noted inadequate day and dining space, institutional bedroom accommodation and a lack of private space for residents to meet visitors. There were inadequate sanitary facilities and residents did not have a choice of whether to take a shower or a bath, as there was no bath.

“There were inadequate dining facilities and most residents had their meals by their beds, while a small number of residents dined at tables in small alcoves off the corridors.

“The layout of the building significantly compromised the dignity of residents, particularly those with high dependency levels. Due to the limited access to communal areas, residents in shared bedrooms spent much of the day in bed, or sitting beside their beds. They had no means of enjoying quiet time or having private discussions with staff or visitors. Lack of access to adequate communal space impacted greatly on the opportunities for residents to engage with each other socially,” the report stated. Inspectors found the building to be clean, warm and well maintained.

Welcoming the recommendations of this report, HSE Mid-West area manager Bernard Gloster assured patients and their relatives this routine inspection is part of the regulatory process, which happens in both public and private facilities all over the country.

Mr Gloster noted the most critical point is that the inspectors are satisfied that residents are well cared for and commented positively on many care practices and progress on previous recommendations.

“While the HSE welcomes and aspires to the highest standards for the accommodation of long-stay residents,” he pointed out there are many “similar built-environment issues” in both public and private facilities because the majority were built before the regulatory process.

“It is simply an issue of space,” Mr Gloster commented. “If we want to increase the space in the current service, we would have to reduce the number of beds substantially and we have already done that by more than 100 in the past seven years. We need every bed we have.

“Efforts have been made to improve these issues in our buildings and we will continue to do so. However, we have to balance the need to meet the regulations, while at the same time, we continue to provide a service and be particularly conscious of the fact that not only is there a limit to money available but also a limit to the type of work that can be done in any one period because of the nature and history of such buildings.

“A number of recommendations have been implemented since the inspections took place, other recommendations will be implemented during the year and a timescale for each recommendation has been advised,” he said.