Montenotte nursing home to address Hiqa issues with refurbishment

Refurbishment plans for a nursing home in Montenotte will address ongoing issues with the dining room and other communal space, the provider has said.

Following a recent inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) Carechoice Montenotte was marked compliant in nine areas, substantially compliant in five, and not compliant in one.

Overall, the feedback from residents was that they were content living there and that staff were kind and respectful. One resident said: “The staff are very helpful, I feel minded and safe here”.

Hiqa inspectors noted an improvement in staffing rosters in general compared to the previous inspection, but said that night duty staffing levels on the ground floor were not adequate to meet the assessed needs of residents.

There was only one nurse and one care staff allocated to this floor after 8pm, and nurses confirmed that were regularly disrupted from medication rounds due to lack of staff to assist residents in the evening.

Call bells

Inspectors also found that some residents’ rooms did not have call bells enabling them to call staff for assistance.

The majority of the issues raised by the inspectors related to the premises. They found that the dining room on Roches Point was not conducive to a homely environment as there were an industrial dishwasher and sink units as residents walked into the space.

This issue had been pointed out after the last inspection and remained in place, despite an action plan from the provider saying it would be addressed.

There was inappropriate storage of beds, furniture and personal protective equipment (PPE) in the oratory, which prevented residents from using the communal space.

The large activities room in the centre was also reported as unused as the activities programme had been transferred to dayrooms throughout. This meant there was a large area of communal space that residents did not have access to.

Bed tables

In the Carlisle floor, the inspectors saw that while the majority of residents were served their meals in the main dining room, six residents were eating from bed tables in the day room attached, which did not support a sociable dining experience for them. There were similar findings on other floors.

The provider told Hiqa, after the inspection, that the rosters had been amended to add a third staff member until 9pm, and that every resident now has a call bell.

A refurbishment plan is now in place which includes reconfiguration of the dining room on Roches Point, including the removal of industrial kitchen equipment, to create a more homely and appropriate dining environment for residents.

Dining arrangements across the centre have been reviewed, and refurbishment plans will support an improved environment for communal dining areas.

Once the works are completed, rooms currently being used for storage will revert to their intended use as communal spaces for residents, and plans are in development to repurpose the former activity room as an additional communal area.