Tag Archives: Cahercalla Community Hospital

The company that operates Cahercalla Community Hospital in Ennis plunged into the red last year to record losses of €895,091 from trading activities. New accounts show that Cahercalla Community Hospital CLG recorded the €895,091 loss after revenues decreased by €663,000 or 12% from €5.65m to €4.99m. In their report, the directors state that Cahercalla Community CLG “was massively impacted on many levels by the Covid-19 pandemic”. They state that “the financial impact is clearly seen in the financial statements for 2021”. The company made a loss of €895,091 from trading activities but pointed out that the loss was “somewhat mitigated by an insurance claim of €151,777”. Occupancy rates were highlighted as the main driver of the loss. The accounts – signed by company director and former TD, Dr Michael Harty – show that the loss last year followed a surplus of €184,940 in 2020. The directors reveal that in 2021, occupancy rates had slumped to 80.5 residents due to the …

UNIVERSITY students led by an Ennis woman have put their best foot forward to raise much needed funds for various organisations including a local community hospital and nursing home. Community Liaison Officer at the University of Limerick, and Ennis native, Gabriella Hanrahan spearheaded the fundraising efforts which encouraged students to get some exercise while also doing some good for worthy causes. She believes that higher education students are an “untapped resource” and is encouraging communities to get in touch to explore ways student volunteers can support local initiatives. Speaking to The Clare Champion about the fundraiser, Gabriella said, “Covid has created enormous challenges for organisations that traditionally fundraise to provide additional supports and services to communities. Covid also had the effect of reducing volunteering opportunities.” She explained that the students committed to doing 40km of exercise with some walking, cycling or running, and they donated the money raised to animal shelters and activities for residents in nursing homes. They raised …

A NATIONAL health watchdog issued a notice to cancel the registration of an Ennis community hospital due to a history of non-compliances with regulations, writes Dan Danaher. The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has confirmed its chief inspector issued a notice of proposal to cancel the registration of Cahercalla Community Hospital and Hospice earlier this year after an inspection in January and February found action had not been taken to address non compliances. HIQA has confirmed the notice of proposed decision to cancel the registration of Cahercalla Community Hospital and Hospice remains in effect and has not been withdrawn. This notice was addressed by Cahercalla, which outlined a revised organisational structure, after enlisting the services of Mowlam Healthcare to manage the centre. HIQA stated Cahercalla had a “poor history of compliance with regulations, with repeated non-compliance in areas such as governance and management, individual assessment and care planning, health care and staffing”. An inspection report completed after an unannounced visit on …

THE board of Cahercalla Community Hospital has said it fully accepts the findings of the HIQA report on an inspection carried out “at a time when Cahercalla was at its lowest ebb while dealing with a substantial Covid-19 outbreak which involved 25% of residents and resulted in 25% of staff being absent on Covid related leave.” The report, which was published on Friday, comes off the back of an unannounced inspection of the facility on January 20, 2021 during the Covid-19 outbreak. The report deemed Cahercalla to be ‘non-compliant’ in 12 different regulatory areas at the time. Responding to the publication of the report, Chairman of the Cahercalla Board, Dr Michael Harty said, “The board of Cahercalla fully accepts the finding of this HIQA report. The inspection was carried out at a time when Cahercalla was at its lowest ebb while dealing with a substantial Covid-19 outbreak which involved 25% of residents and resulted in 25% of staff being absent …

AN ENNIS GP has described a number of incidents where Covid-19 vaccines were administered people in non-priority groups as “insulting”. It emerged in recent days that so-called ‘remnant’ doses, left over after vaccination of priority groups at the Coombe and Rotonda hospitals in Dublin, were administered to relatives of staff. “The idea that hospitals would start giving spare doses to other people without evening thinking of their other frontline healthcare colleagues is insulting,” said Dr Máire Finn. “The fact that hospitals would get extra quantities of the vaccine and wouldn’t consider other staff or calling in GPs in their area makes me incredibly cross. There’s a sense that GPs have only been getting the scraps off the table.” Dr Finn welcomed updated guidance from the Health Service Executive (HSE) stating that hospitals should compile stand-by lists of other healthcare workers who would be vaccinated in the event of any spare doses becoming available. She also commended the roll-out of a …

Members of the Irish Defence Forces are providing non-medical logistical support at Cahercalla Community Hospital following an outbreak of Covid-19 infection. It has emerged that there are currently 19 cases of Coronavirus in the medical facility. The Board of Cahercalla has moved to assure relatives they are doing everything possible to protect and care for patients following grave concerns expressed about the impact of the outbreak on social media on Saturday. It has confirmed members of the Irish Defence Forces are on site to give non medical logistical support in order to allow staff concentrate on their clinical duties and to assist in the setting up of the vaccination areas at Cahercalla. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion on behalf of the Cahercalla Board, Dr Michael Harty outlined the hospital are working closely with HIQA, the HSE dedicated Covid-19 Response Team and other agencies to manage and control this outbreak to ensure continued quality care, safety and welfare …