11 Residents Of One Clare Nursing Home Died From COVID Earlier This Year

11 residents in one Clare nursing home passed away from COVID-19 earlier this year.

The disclosure was made following a HIQA inspection at Athlunkard House Nursing Home in Westbury.

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An outbreak of COVID-19 was confirmed at the facility, located on the outskirts of Limerick city inside the Clare border, at the beginning of April.

A total of 33 residents and 18 staff members tested positive for COVID-19 between April and June, with 11 residents losing their lives.

HIQA inspected the nursing home unannounced in July – a month after the outbreak was declared over by public health authorities.

They noted that governance and management was effective at the centre prior to COVID-19 being confirmed on the premises – however, they say the outbreak ‘highlighted previously unrecognised vulnerabilities within the management systems’ of the facility.

Residents spoken to by HIQA inspectors mentioned that a sense of normality had begun to return to the nursing home at the time they were interviewed, with one resident saying he was ‘feeling great’ after making a full recovery from the virus.

The report stated that management at Athlunkard House have since completed a review of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the nursing home. It says lessons have been learnt and areas to improve on have been identified.

HIQA inspectors noted that many of the required improvements identified by the HSE team and those identified following the outbreak review had now been completed but some further improvements were required under a number of regulations.

The full report is available here