Management of nursing home’s Covid outbreak chaotic and with poor infection control, inspection finds

Inspectors who visited a nursing home and hospice in January while it was fighting a Covid-19 outbreak found its management of the incident was chaotic and disorganised with poor infection control.

Residents with complex needs associated with having the virus were found to be spending extended periods alone in their bedroom with no evidence of clinical monitoring or nursing supervision.

The Hiqa inspection report on Cahercalla Community Hospital and Hospice on the outskirts of Ennis in Clare found one resident spent five days in an isolation unit on their own after their need for isolation has passed.

Residents said they had to wait extended periods of time for their call bells to be answered.

Some residents reported staff treated them with kindness and respect.

However inspectors also observed staff speaking to residents in a disrespectful and abrupt manner and talking over residents, not giving them time to speak.

They observed a lack of privacy, with one resident using a commode with the door open. Uncovered commodes were seen in other rooms, where they appeared to be part of the furniture.

Inspectors also observed a resident having lunch with an uncovered urinal sitting on the windowsill beside the bed table holding their lunch tray.

During meal time a resident was seen sitting with their meal on a tray beside them waiting for assistance. Staff did not communicate with the resident who looked on while other residents enjoyed their meal.

There was also limited access to meaningful activities, the inspection found.

Information given to the chief inspector after the inspection found there were more than enough staff employed at the centre but there was an absence of robust rostering.

Staff spoken to were not clear about who was in charge of the centre.

Significant gaps were apparent in staff knowledge of infection prevention and control procedures and the identification of Covid-19 symptoms.

This posed a significant risk to the well being of residents.

An inspection of another nursing home, the Sacred Heart residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Raheny, north Dublin, found poor infection control practices.

It had suffered a significant outbreak where 71 staff and 37 residents contracted the virus.

Another inspection of Clonskeagh Community Nursing Unit in Dublin, which is run by the HSE, was carried out. It had an outbreak from March to August last year in which 60 members of staff and 49 residents were infected.

Inspectors said that 15 residents had passed away.

Staff who spoke with inspectors expressed great sadness about the loss of residents, and the inspectors found a culture of training and learning at the centre.

Online Editors