Health inspectors have raised concern that complaints from nursing home residents in an East Clare facility weren’t being logged by staff.
HIQA carried out an unannounced inspection of the Lakes Nursing Home in Killaloe to follow up on previous findings and on unsolicited information received by the Chief Inspector specific to staffing, complaints management and the quality of care.
The unannounced inspection of the Lakes Nursing Home in Killaloe took place on April 6th when there were 54 residents accommodated in the centre.
Inspectors received mixed feedback from residents and relatives.
While praise was afforded to individual staff, residents expressed concern at the high turnover of staff.
Residents commented to inspectors that ”all the old staff have left and the new staff don’t have the know-how” and ”staff here are brilliant, not enough of them”.
Inspectors highlighted issues with infection control at the facility, with details in the report of the ‘visibly unclean’ premises, which had dust and dirt built up.
The report records evidence of commode chairs being visibly soiled, inappropriate disposal of waste due to the sluice machine not working, wheelchairs being unclean and rusted and the floor areas surrounding some toilets being dirty.
Another area of concern related to staffing levels.
While there was sufficient staff present on the day on inspection, the provider didn’t have the resources to maintain consistent healthcare staffing levels on a daily basis.
Three vacancies for healthcare assistants were noted at the time of inspection, rosters found multiple examples with staff shortages varying from 12-24 hours of direct car and an absence of cover if staff call in at short notice.
Issues relating to complaints were also highlighted by inspectors.
The report found evidence that complaints made to the staff were not always recognised as a complaint and were not logged as a compliant.
Similarly, incidents of concern that had been brought to the attention of staff were not logged.
Overall, the facility was found to be fully compliant in three areas, substantially compliant in five areas and not compliant in two areas.
You can read the full report here
