A nursing home in Clare has had to provide CCTV training to its staff after an inspection found that its systems to respond to incidents involving missing persons weren’t “robust”.
The Health Information and Quality Authority found the Ennis Road Care Facility in Meelick not to be compliant in five areas in which it was assessed during its unannounced inspection of May 12th of this year.
On the day of the inspection, the facility, which is operated by Beech Lodge Care Facility Limited, had 79 residents present.
Residents expressed satisfaction with the care and support they received but spoke of “inconsistent” wait times and said they were often left waiting during night-time hours.
One resident described waiting a “prolonged period” at night when their call bell was out of reach and said staff were unable to hear them calling as they were attending to residents elsewhere in the building.
HIQA inspectors found that staff supervision arrangements weren’t appropriate as evidenced by poor oversight of residents’ clinical documentation, poor supervision of staff to ensure records were maintained, and poor fire safety supervision, as shown by fire doors which were wedged open.
Record-keeping was identified as an area of concern due to residents’ files not being correctly maintained and staff files missing important information regarding their identity.
The centre was also found to lack a “clear and functional policy” when it came to responding to incidents relating to missing persons, with staff unable to access the CCTV system despite the monitoring of CCTV being a key aspect of procedure.
In all, the facility was deemed not to be compliant in five areas, namely training and staff development, records, governance and management, temporary absence or discharge of residents, and individual assessment and care plan.
Beech Lodge Care Facility Limited has submitted a comprehensive compliance plan outlining how the various issues raised will be addressed.
This includes assurances that a Chief Operating Officer has been appointed and commenced house oversight on August 4th, and that staff have completed training in the use and operation of the facility’s CCTV system.
You can read the full report here
