An inspection of a Longford nursing home in the middle of a Covid outbreak has found that the quality and care provided to residents needed significant improvements.
Hiqa recorded a total of seven non-compliances from twelve areas examined at Laurel Lodge nursing home in Longford town, including staffing, fire precautions and infection control.
This unannounced inspection took place in September of last year with 113 residents on the premises at the time.
It came on foot of a Covid outbreak at the centre as well as 'unsolicited information received and notifications to the chief inspector.'
At the time 32 residents and 20 staff had Covid, and according to Hiqa inspectors, the quality of life and care provided to residents in all three units needed "significant improvement".
Inspectors noted that the physical environment had not been maintained and managed to effectively reduce the risk of infection.
One unit, which had a high number of residents with Covid at the time of inspection, was described as appearing 'chaotic' and "corridors were narrow and were cluttered with equipment".
Inspectors also noted that "staff did not provide assistance to two residents with their lunchtime meals" and "these two residents' food trays were taken away from them untouched."
Issues with equipment and fire safety were also noted.
According to HIQA, overall, the quality and safety of residents' care and quality of life were negatively impacted due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
They noted that "staff worked tirelessly to provide care to residents, whose care needs increased due to COVID-19 infection but inadequate staffing levels significantly impacted ability to safely cohort residents, provide adequate levels of nursing care and support, and to ensure the centre was cleaned to the standard required during an outbreak of COVID-19."
It also noted that the roles and responsibilities of the management team were "unclear" and oversight was lacking to ensure that safe, quality care was delivered to residents.
In a statement to Shannonside Northern Sound, management stated that "While there are items and/or commentary contained in the report which we disagree with, management acknowledge some areas of concern highlighted by the inspectors and commit to addressing issues raised in a constructive and pro-active manner."
The statement continues that "as the HIQA inspection took place at the height of our outbreak it does not reflect the high standard of care we strive to achieve and deliver on a day- to-day basis at Laurel Lodge Nursing Home."
The statement in full is contained below:
Having successfully protected our residents for over 18 months from COVID-19 infection, regrettably at the end of August 2021, we experienced a significant outbreak at Laurel Lodge.
The pace of contagion and the resulting impact on staffing was significant, with over 20 staff testing positive within a 48-hour period.
Thankfully all our residents had received their vaccines and this was instrumental in ensuring that the vast majority of residents who contracted the virus, were not overly unwell.
Within days of confirming our outbreak, while dealing with the numerous challenges which ensued, HIQA inspectors made an unannounced visit to our centre.
In their report HIQA acknowledge that “residents individual care needs continued to be met” and that “staff worked tirelessly to provide care to residents”.
The inspectors also acknowledge that management “had endeavoured to address the staff shortages caused by the outbreak”, with support being given by the HSE and external agencies and existing staff working additional hours, however, they state that “in spite of the best intentions of the management team to source additional staff” they found that “there were not enough staff with the appropriate skills” on site at the time of the inspection.
Inspectors acknowledge that “the lived experience of residents at the time of the inspection was not a true reflection of how residents normally spend their day”. They refer to meeting staff who were providing support and were not from the centre and as a result “did not know the residents’ individual…needs”.
Management would like to sincerely thank all those who came to our assistance during this very difficult time and to extend our utmost appreciation to our own personnel who, despite staffing shortages, did everything possible to ensure our residents were cared for.
While there are items and/or commentary contained in the report which we disagree with, management acknowledge some areas of concern highlighted by the inspectors and commit to addressing issues raised in a constructive and pro-active manner. As the HIQA inspection took place at the height of our outbreak it does not reflect the high standard of care we strive to achieve and deliver on a day- to- day basis at Laurel Lodge Nursing Home.
HIQA have just completed a further 2-day inspection at Laurel Lodge early last week, with their report due for publication in the coming months and we expect that this report will more accurately reflect the everyday practices, standards and care provided by the dedicated team at Laurel Lodge.
Laurel Lodge Management
The full report is accessible by clicking here:
