The first inspection of a Clare centre for disabilities has found that “significant review” of medication management practices is required at the facility.
A Health Information and Quality Authority reports states that Carrowgar Respite Service has failed to keep prescribing records for residents who have been tasked with administering their own medication.
HIQA visited Carrowgar Respite Service which is located on the outskirts of Clarecastle on January 28th for an unannounced inspection.
The facility, which opened its doors in 2022, provides a respite service for up to four residents, under and over 18 years of age, with an intellectual disability.
The only area in which the service provider has been found not to be compliant is ‘medicines and pharmaceutical services’.
The report notes that while 12 residents availing of the service have been assessed to have the capacity to take responsibility for self-administering their medicines, no prescribing records have been kept by the centre.
It’s also stated that while the provider has introduced a declaration form to be completed by residents in which they detail their medicines for self-administration, no prescription records are available to them.
This means, according to the report, that there is no way of verifying that these are medicines that the resident is prescribed.
To this end, the provider, the Rehab Group, states in the compliance plan that it’s undertaking a full review of the service users’ individual medication plans and that several measures have been taken to improve systems.
The service has been found to be compliant or substantially compliant in every other area in which it was assessed.
