Property of nursing home residents still missing

OWNERS OF a Co Kilkenny nursing home were unable to show inspectors that residents’ personal property had been returned or accounted for, a report by the health watchdog has found.

Avondale Nursing Home in Callan was closed by interim court order in late July. The request for the order was made after the Health Information and Quality Authority discovered sudden and unagreed plans to move all patients out of the home within days. The home’s registration was cancelled last Tuesday.

The health watchdog yesterday published six inspection reports on the nursing home which dated from March to July which reveal further details of problems identified at the private nursing home.

In the final inspection report from July 20th and 21st, inspectors note: “The provider was unable to provide evidence that residents’ personal property, possessions, statement of account, monies held, or State pension books had been returned and accounted for, to residents or their relatives.”

Separately the Garda is investigating allegations that the owners have stolen money, medication and personal public service cards from several residents.

In a report from July 6th inspectors raised concerns about the home’s management and the nutritional care of residents.

On the day of inspection, dinner for the many residents needing liquidised diets was “pureed tinned corned beef”, the report found. “This provided neither variety nor choice,” the report said.

Inspectors found a “significant deterioration” in three patients from earlier inspections.

One resident was losing weight but was described on nursing records as “eating well”. However, neither her fluid nor food intake were being monitored.

A community dietitian recommended a patient with “steady weight loss” be re-referred to a dietitian service but this referral was not made.

The final report notes that food stocks were “very limited” with just one bag of potatoes and “significant shortages”. When the Health Service Executive took over the home it had to buy basic essentials such as meat, vegetables, bread, drinks, cereals and milk.

The governance arrangements were described by inspectors as “entirely unsatisfactory and unsafe” and “completely inadequate”.

A nurse left in charge during a protracted period of leave by the owner and manager in April had only been working part-time for five weeks previously. She had not been inducted about policies and procedures and was working shifts rather than being a full-time staff member, inspectors noted.

Medical concerns were also raised in July inspections. One resident needed a dressing changed every three days following a surgical procedure. However, records showed gaps of four and five days making the dressing very difficult to remove.

Care staff were regularly giving residents crushed medication in their food, which inspectors described as “an unsafe practice” because it was not possible to tell if they had eaten enough medication.

The sluice room, for washing bedpans, was “effectively inaccessible” with the hoist sling in the way, thus risking cross-infection. Staff were unclear if there was a procedure for separating clothes of residents with the superbug MRSA, the report found.

The findings showed “a lack of adequate overview and attention to the details of crucial aspects of the resident healthcare,” inspectors said.

Gardaí believe Miriam and Hayley Holmes, who are listed as directors of Avondale Nursing Home, left the State in the immediate aftermath of the home’s closure.