Hiqa finds safety issues and ‘urgent need’ for staffing in Cork Horizons centre

A recent Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) report identified serious issues around fire safety and an “urgent need” for staffing at a Cork city centre for people with disabilities.

Cork City North 5, ran by Horizons (formerly the Cope Foundation) was marked not compliant in five areas, substantially compliant in five and compliant in just two.

There was evidence that the provider had implemented compliance plan actions since the last inspection, resulting in improved compliance in some areas, such as personal plans and complaints, and it was noted that staff and management talked more positively compared to previous inspections.

However, like previous inspections, a number of regulatory actions were identified during the current inspection. These included non-compliances in fire precautions and staffing, both of which had been found non-compliant in multiple previous inspections.

Following a 2023 inspection, it was indicated that there was a requirement for a 50% increase in staff, which was equal to 20 additional whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff.

On the current inspection, it was found that there was improvement around aspects of the staffing provided. For example, inspectors were informed that there were no staff vacancies in the centre, while the provision of activation staff had increased.

However, since the 2023 inspection, a further review of staffing had been completed which highlighted that many residents needed 2:1 staff support for most activities of daily living, and that staff were struggling to provide appropriate continuity of care and support.

APPLICATION

A funding application has been put in by the centre earlier this year, saying that there was an “urgent need” to increase staff, indicating that the centre had 40 WTE staffing in place but required 53.5 WTE, with additional nursing staff, care assistants, social workers and multipurpose staff being sought.

Under the fire precuations regulation, the provider was required to submit an urgent compliance plan to address an urgent risk. The fire alarm/panel systems currently provided in the centre did not provide a means to identify where a fire started, which posed a significant risk as it could increase the time needed for staff to arrive and assist in evacuating residents.

Additionally, staff working had not received on-site practical fire safety training for a number of years. Improvements were required regarding oversight of construction work, and fire doors in some areas were routinely left open and would not close if the fire alarm was activated.

OXYGEN

There was a large oxygen cylinder with an expiry date in excess of 14 months inappropriately stored in a room with combustible storage, and there was evidence that people were smoking in non-designated areas, which were not fitted with appropriate fire safety equipment or receptacles to discard the cigarette ends.

Horizons told Hiqa after the inspection that a fire systems review had been undertaken and changes put in place to ensure staff would know where a fire had started.

Additionally, fire wardens are now allocated on each shift, staff had received fire training, they have been made aware of how to store oxygen, and where to allow smoking.

The provider also said they had received confirmation of funding for the increase in staffing and management which will equate to a 13.5 uplift in staff numbers.