Issues relating to privacy, infection control and staffing raised in Cork nursing home reports

ISSUES relating to privacy, infection control, and staffing in some Cork nursing homes were highlighted in new reports issued this week.

The Health Information and Quality Authority issued a non-compliance in the area of premises in an inspection report of Abbeylands Nursing Home in Kildorrery.

Activity rooms “were cluttered with equipment and supplies”, the inspector noted, and “a number of residents’ bedrooms were missing chairs, a bedroom door was chipped and required repair, paintwork on walls and skirting boards in a number of residents rooms were chipped and marked”.

The centre comprises 16 single bedrooms and 17 twin bedrooms, and there had been ongoing privacy issues in the twin rooms.

An issue raised in an inspection on December 13, 2022, was still not rectified, despite the centre saying after that inspection “we will install curtain rails and curtains in accordance with the regulation to ensure dignity and privacy to the resident at all times, this will be complete by April 30, 2023”.

The inspector explained following the most recent visit: “Privacy curtains in the shared rooms did not ensure residents’ privacy and dignity was promoted at all times as they did not completely enclose the resident’s personal space when closed, this was a repeat finding.”

The centre’s operators said in the inspection report released this week that “privacy curtains have been ordered”. The estimated date of delivery was mid-April and they assured “all bedrooms will be fitted by 30/05/24”.

An issue with the complaints procedure was also identified in Abbeylands, with the inspector noting that it required updating… to ensure that written responses provided to complainants included the outcome from investigation of complaint, any learnings and details of the review process available to complainants.

Mount Alvernia Hospital in Mallow also had issues raised about its complaints procedure, with the inspector noting that “not all complaints were logged in the centre as required, where residents complained regarding food choices and options these were not consistently recorded.”

Infection control

Infection control was an issue also raised in both centres, with Abbeylands’ report noting “a number of commode inserts and urinals on a storage rack within the dirty utility room were visibly unclean, and ineffective decontamination increased the risk of cross infection”.

Mount Alvernia’s report said: “Residents who reported respiratory symptoms were not consistently assessed and managed in a timely fashion, in line with guidelines to reduce the risk of onward transmission.”

Staffing 

The Mount Alvernia report also noted that there were two dedicated activities staff, but “on the day of inspection, one of the activity staff was on unplanned leave and due to other staff absences, the remaining activity staff member was assigned to caring duties.

“This meant that there was little meaningful activities available for residents during the morning of the inspection.

“On the morning of inspection, the inspector saw residents sitting in day rooms with no social stimulation to add meaning to their day.”

Staffing also caused issues in Corpus Christi Nursing Home in Mitchelstown, with their report noting, “from 11pm to 8am each night there was only one nurse and two care assistants at this time to provide care for 40 residents.

“Six residents had been assessed as having maximum level of dependency needs and nine residents had a high level of dependency needs which may require the support of two staff for their care needs.”

It noted that since a previous inspection, there had been “an increase of seven residents and no corresponding increase in staffing at night.”