The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
SERIOUS infrastructural deficiencies and fire safety risks identified in the latest report examining St Joseph’s Geriatric Hospital, Ennis, have prompted calls for the provision of a new state-of-the-art multi-million euro public elderly care facility on a greenfield site. An unannounced inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) on August 12 and 13 last found adequate precautions were not in place against the risk of fire, or for reviewing and adequately acting on reports of deficits in fire safety precautions. The Mid-West HSE stated this week that concerns in relation to fire safety precautions have been addressed to the inspector’s satisfaction. These include replacement of fire hose reels with fire extinguishers, renaming of corridors and erecting permanent signage. While the HIQA inspector, Mary Moore, said the feedback from relatives and residents about the quality of care was consistently positive, she warned that the design and layout of the centre didn’t promote the “privacy, independence and quality of life of …
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