Tag Archives: HIQA

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 …

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 …

Forty-seven patients were waiting on trolleys, with no available beds, at University Hospital Limerick early this Monday morning. Following on from this, the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation is calling for the implementation of the Major Emergency Plan at University Hospital Limerick to bring about “a level of control and safety at the emergency department.” “At 8am this morning 47 patients, who were admitted in the last 24-48 hours for care, but for whom no beds were available, have been left on trolleys in the emergency department. This is catastrophic and the Major Emergency Plan should have been utilised by management at the hospital to protect the patients, the staff and to assist to make the hospital safe, said Mary Fogarty, INMO industrial relations officer. Ms Fogarty noted that despite the fact that the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) in June 2014 detailed a range of risks resulting from the overcrowding in UHL, it still continues. “The INMO has …

A nationwide public consultation has begun to gather feedback on new national standards for nursing homes, published by HIQA. There are approximately 1,800 people using residential care services throughout Clare. HIQA is seeking feedback on the new draft standards from those who live in nursing homes, their families and friends and also those who run or work in the nursing homes. “These new draft standards place the resident at the centre of the process so it is important to us that as many people as possible tell us what their priorities are and how they feel the standards should be written,” said a HIQA spokesperson. The standards which describe the quality of care services will apply to all nursing homes and other care settings such as geriatric hospital wards, run by the HSE, private organisations or voluntary bodies. Registered nursing homes are then inspected by HIQA on a regular basis. The final date for receipt of submissions is September 24. To take part in the consultation you can go to www.hiqa.ie. …

Ann Doherty, the chief executive of the University of Limerick Hospitals Group, has told The Clare Champion of her “upset” at instances where people attending the emergency department in Limerick experience “reduced privacy and dignity.” Ms Doherty was responding to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report, published last Friday, which highlighted a number of patient safety risks in the hospital group. One of the areas pinpointed in the report was the negative impact arising from overcrowding at the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick. “It impeded access to patients for care and observation, reduced privacy and dignity, increased the risk of transmission of infection and prevented adequate cleaning of the department,” the report read. “It upsets me and I have said that,” Ann Doherty commented. “Dignity and respect is a very important value for me as a human being, for me as a practitioner and for us as an organisation. Our emergency department, in its current state because …

The conditions experienced by patients attending the Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick are unacceptable, a new report published this Friday by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has found. The report also highlights a number of patient safety risks in the hospital group, which must be addressed as a priority. HIQA’s report of the review of the governance arrangements as reflected in the safety, quality and standards of services at UL Hospitals found a clear willingness to change and improve services for the public, but that the absence of a statutory governance framework is hindering the development of strong governance and patient safety functions. HIQA’s director of regulation, Phelim Quinn said, “Since the findings in 2009 of HIQA’s investigation into the quality and safety of hospital services in Ennis Hospital, there has been an extensive and positive journey of reconfiguration and reorganisation in the catchment area covered by UL Hospitals. Substantial governance and operational changes have occurred and …

AN investment of €800,000 is to be made towards the upgrade of the 45-bed Kilrush District Hospital, with the sod expected to be turned in early July. The work is being carried out, at the hospital, which employs 45 staff, to meet Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) guidelines. “We have decided to put a new wing on to the hospital, with 15 new beds, along with day rooms and other ancillaries. “We’re registered for 45 beds and we’re trying to keep to that level,” chairman of the entirely voluntary board of directors of Kilrush District Hospital Ltd, Gerry O’Malley, explained. “HIQA only want two people in any room now, so we’re now obliged to do that. Residents and the public are looking for private rooms as well. The job is gone out to tender since last Thursday and there have been eight expressions of interest. We’d expect to be starting on the first week in July and finishing by …