Almost half of the residents in a Leitrim nursing home spent all or most of the day in their bedrooms. That’s according to the health watchdog, which raised concern about their lack of social activities. This inspection was carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority into Ballinamore Nursing Unit, which is run by the HSE. It found nine of the 19 residents living in the centre on the day of inspection did not spend time in the sitting room. Hiqa says they spent all or most of the day in their bedrooms, watching television, sleeping, or sitting quietly in their chairs. It says there wasn’t much evidence staff were helping these residents to participate in more meaningful social activities.
In response, the HSE said a review of social activities was carried out. It said this found the activities provided do meet residents’ satisfaction, and residents were happy with the activity programme. But it did commit to carrying out improvements, especially at the weekends.
