THE OPERATORS of a Co Clare nursing home said yesterday they had addressed concerns raised by independent health inspectors in relation to the home.
A 95-year-old woman died last August during a fire at the Lakes Nursing Home, Killaloe, while residents were moved to a safe part of the building.
The woman, who died of natural causes, had been gravely ill during the day and had been administered the last rites earlier.
The Health Information and Quality Authority has issued a new report on the home following an inspection which it says was “triggered” by information received concerning the quality of healthcare.
The report does not specify what issue triggered the inspection at the home, which has capacity for 57 places.
However, in the report the authority’s inspectors say “there was evidence of poor leadership in meeting some statutory responsibilities by the provider and the person in charge”.
The report says the home failed to finalise actions which were required following a previous inspection at the home. Some of the issues raised then had been repeated in a follow-up inspection at the home, but had “still not been satisfactorily completed” by the time of the most recent inspection.
“Inspectors were satisfied that residents’ nursing, medical and other healthcare needs were met and some areas of good practice were identified,” the latest report states.
“The inspectors were also satisfied that the emergency in response to a recent fire was effective in ensuring the safety of residents and was managed in line with the centre’s policy.
“Residents told inspectors about the evacuation and confirmed that while they were frightened, they were well looked after and reassured by staff, and that they were back in their beds 2½ hours after the fire was identified.”
The report states that the person in charge had resigned, with effect from September 1st, 2010. A spokesman for the nursing home operator Elder Nursing Homes Ltd said yesterday a successor to this person had been appointed.
The care home told the authority that the new person in charge “will be working closely with the provider and regional operations director to provide strong leadership to the team in Lakes Nursing Home”.
The spokesman said yesterday that the concerns raised by the inspection report were largely procedural and they had been dealt with by the nursing home.
“We are satisfied with the report overall,” he said, adding that the nursing home accepted the recommendations of the report and had agreed a timeframe with the authority to address the concerns.
