The HSE has taken over the running of a Co Laois nursing home after Hiqa obtained a court order cancelling its existing registration under the Health Act.
In a brief statement, Hiqa said it had acted “in the interests of the health, safety and quality of life of the residents” of Droimnin Nursing Home.
The HSE took over operations of the nursing home at Brockley Park, Stradbally, at 2pm on Wednesday after obtaining the order at Portlaoise District Court. The home has 39 residents.
The move is said to have followed a succession of issues arising out of inspection reports which Hiqa did not believe had been adequately addressed by the home’s owners.
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The case had previously been before the courts and there is understood to have been a long history of engagement between Hiqa and the nursing home operators with regard to addressing issues over the standard of care provided.
In the most recent report published by Hiqa last month and based on a series of inspections carried out in September, it was stated the operators had “repeatedly failed to adhere to previous commitments to establish effective systems of governance and management and to ensure effective supervision of care practices”.
The inspection found that “the overall management of the centre was ineffective and that oversight of the quality and safety of the care provided to residents was poor”.
“The impact of this was that a number of residents were consistently in receipt of sub-standard care. This failure of governance and leadership placed all residents living in the designated centre at significant risk to their welfare and safety,” the report said.
The report’s authors said they had received mixed feedback from the residents they had spoken with during inspections. They were, it was reported, generally positive about the staff but said their daily routine was inconsistent. Issues were raised about the food and problems with the amount of time it sometimes took to receive assistance were also highlighted.
The inspectors described the management structure at the facility as “inconsistent and unclear” – something they said impacted on the basic healthcare provided to residents.
“The provider had repeatedly failed to implemented effective systems for the oversight and monitoring of the care provided to residents, particularly in relation to the implementation of recommendations from allied health care professionals and the monitoring of residents with complex medical conditions,” it was stated.
“Inspectors identified multiple examples where recommendations made by medical professionals were not implemented. This lack of supervision and oversight extended to critical aspects of residents’ healthcare, placing them at significant risk.
“For example, inspectors found that basic monitoring of a resident with a cardiac condition was not carried out in line with the recommendations of medical and healthcare professionals, despite the resident showing signs and symptoms of clinical deterioration.”
An order to halt admissions to the home had previously been made and the number of residents had declined from about 50 since autumn.
Drominin Nursing Home Limited, a company consisting of three directors, is the registered provider of Drominin Nursing Home. The Hiqa report states the directors are also involved in the operation of a number of other designated centres for older persons located across the country.
