A HIQA report has found that nursing staff at a West Clare nursing home administered medication without an original signed prescription authorising them to do so.
An announced inspection at the Regina House Community Nursing Unit in Kilrush, while largely complimentary, has found one instance of major non-compliance relating to medication management and two instances of moderate non-compliance.
On the days of inspection in September last year, there was evidence of good practice in all areas at the Regina House Community Nursing Unit.
The inspector was satisfied that residents’ nursing and healthcare needs were being met and that improvements had been made to the building and facilities, with further works in progress.
The inspector observed sufficient staffing and skill-mix on duty, but further improvements were required to the premises, and in areas such as safeguarding, providing access to Wi-Fi and medication management.
Nursing staff were found to have administered some medications without an original signed prescription that authorised them to do so, and the report found this wasn’t in line with best practice, and that it posed an increased risk of error.
An action plan relating to this has since been put forward by the provider, but the Health Authority has found that it doesn’t satisfactorily address the failings identified within the report.
Additional safeguarding measures have been put in place however to ensure safety of residents, and works which were due to be completed in December, were aimed at addressing issues relating to the premises.
The full report is available here.
