Tag Archives: HIQA

A €42 million investment package for community hospitals in the Mid-West has been announced by the Government. The plan includes a €12 million provision for a new 50-bed extension to St Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis, while the remaining 100 beds there will be refurbished in the existing facility. This investment will ensure compliance with HIQA standards, delivering a comfortable modern care facility for our older people. In the past 12 months there been significant investment in facilities in Community Hospitals in Ennistymon and Kilrush, with works at Raheen also currently underway.

A new 150-bed multi-million euro elderly care facility on a greenfield site on the outskirts of Ennis is the preferred option of the HSE to deal with infrastructural deficits in St Joseph’s Hospital. Following discussions with HSE senior management, Deputy Pat Breen said providing a new geriatric hospital on the outskirts of the county town is being prioritised by the authority, following criticisms of the physical environment in St Joseph’s in a report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). In its response to the report, the HSE confirmed it has examined options regarding the design and layout of the centre and has also undertaken an option appraisal exercise. “Arising from this, a proposal has been prepared outlining the costs required to enable the centre to meet HIQA environmental standards. The provider is committed to the long-term future of the centre,” the HSE stated. While a number of options are being explored concerning the provision of long-term elderly residential …

A HOSPITAL that serves patients in East Clare and Galway plans to install a hawk ultrasound, among other measures, to deter birds from excreting on window panes and sills on one of its wards, it emerged this week. Details of the pest-control efforts were revealed in a Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report, following unannounced inspections at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe. HIQA carried out an unannounced inspection in the hospital in March and a re-inspection in April this year, examining the progress made in resolving issues outlined in the hospital’s Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) prepared after a previous unannounced inspection carried out by the authority in May 2014. It also examined improvements in environmental hygiene and the facilities in the oncology day unit. According to the HIQA report, on visiting St Joseph’s Ward during the March inspection, “an open window on the main corridor alerted inspectors to a large amount of bird excreta present on the exterior of several …

A NURSING home in South-East Clare was found to be non-compliant with some regulations in an unannounced inspection at the facility recently. In a report published on Tuesday, inspectors from the Health, Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) detailed “issues of significant concern” at the Athlunkard House Nursing Home in Westbury. HIQA carried out the inspection on April 21 as a follow-up to an inspection that took place in January, when 19 issues were identified that needed to be addressed. Inspectors found that seven of these had been fully dealt with, seven others were partially addressed and the remaining five, relating to governance and management, restraint management and medication management were not satisfactorily dealt with. While the inspectors noted that many of the issues relating to medication management identified during the January inspection had been addressed, there were “further issues of significant concern during this inspection with regard to the documentation of medicines administered in the centre”. According to the report, …

ALONE, the charity that supports older people in need, has called on Health Minister, Leo Varadkar to ensure that a robust system is put in place to ensure all individual complaints made against nursing homes are independently investigated. A new Memorandum of Agreement between HIQA and the Ombudsman excludes private nursing homes where almost 18,000 older people reside. Sean Moynihan, chief executive Officer of ALONE said, “There are currently 700 allegations of mistreatment and bad practices at nursing and care homes in Ireland; this is a matter of grave concern to us and to older people generally. HIQA does not have the power to investigate individual complaints and as a result older people have been left with nowhere to turn”. Moynihan explained, “Currently vulnerable older people are being asked to complain to the organisation that they are alleging abuse against. The new Memorandum of Agreement between HIQA and the Ombudsman only protects the 20% of older people residing in public …

A Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report, from an announced inspection of a nursing home in Ennis, found 10 out of the 18 ‘outcomes’  were non-compliant, two of which were categorised as ‘major’ non-compliance. The HIQA inspection took place at Ennis Nursing Home, Showgrounds Road, on September 30 and October 1 of this year but the report was only published last week. Despite the issues of non-compliance, the report states that residents of the nursing home told the inspector they were happy living in the centre and they felt safe there. Staff also demonstrated good knowledge of the residents’ care needs when speaking with the inspector. However, “significant improvements were required in the documentation of nursing assessments and care plans and medication management”. The report found major non-compliance in the area of safeguarding and safety. The inspector found that training in adult protection had not been delivered to all staff or was overdue for some others. Improvements were required …

THE health watchdog has been asked to conduct an investigation into care at a Spanish Point residential facility, after several deficiencies were revealed in a recent inspection conducted by the Mental Health Commission. Mental health support group, Support Link, has asked HIQA to conduct a review into the Cois Mara facility which, at the time of inspection on November 27, 2013, had 14 residents ranging in age from 52 to 77. Support Link highlighted the findings of the report, including a lack of specialised nursing staff, no occupational therapist, physical therapist or proper therapeutic intervention. The group claimed it was “disgraceful” that residents were paying €134 weekly, despite the absence of a multi-disciplinary team and other basic services. It alleged the HSE is breaching the Mental Health Act by keeping it open as an ‘unapproved’ centre since 2002. Apart from the renovation of the accommodation, such as extending the activities room and shower rooms, the report did not outline any …

ALONE has come out in support of HIQA’s request for increased investigative powers into individual nursing home complaints. Sean Moynihan, CEO of ALONE, the charity which supports older people in need, commented, “Already there have been a number of serious cases reported since Leas Cross, with many additional homes closed down. The Government needs to give HIQA the power to investigate individual complaints, to protect older people in nursing home care. Older people in nursing homes are in a very vulnerable position and they need to be supported.” Mr Moynihan said as individual complaints are investigated internally, older people and families may feel they can’t speak out, for fear of losing their place in the home. “Currently over 2,000 people are waiting for nursing home care in the country, this makes nursing homes very powerful. People need to have an impartial external body to submit complaints to. This is an industry that needs to be properly regulated to ensure it …