A REPORT by the the Health Information and Quality Authority into an outbreak of flu at a Co Roscommon nursing home that claimed at least three lives found night staffing levels were “insufficient to provide care” for the 76 residents.
The report also says records showed the residents at Drumderrig Nursing Home in Boyle had received the flu vaccine.
The outbreak had followed the deaths of seven residents at Nazareth House nursing home near Buncrana, Co Donegal. The residents there had also contracted the condition after having had the flu vaccine.
The report on the Boyle home said seven residents died between April 20th and May 10th this year during the flu outbreak. Three of the deaths, which occurred after the residents were transferred to Sligo General Hospital, were classified as “consequent to influenza-related illness”, the report said.
A fourth death of a patient who had flu symptoms, but who had also fallen, may have been linked to the virus. More than 40 residents at the nursing home were treated with antibiotics and antiviral drug Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) a week after the outbreak was declared and eight were brought to hospital.
On a visit to the home on May 4th, Hiqa inspectors were concerned about night staffing levels. They said two nurses and two carers after midnight “during this critical event was insufficient to provide care and supervise additional treatment and adequate fluid intake for up to 76 residents, some of whom had high levels of acute need during this time”.
Inspectors said while the centre was “well organised, well furnished and decorated to a high standard”, in some areas hygiene standards needed improvement.
These included better cleaning of shower outlets and internal fans in en suite areas and better cleaning of equipment such as commodes to prevent cross-infection.
“The use of fabric hand towels in communal toilets created a significant source of cross-infection,” the report said.
The inspectors also raised concerns when they discovered that facial masks, which should have been used to minimise the transfer of infection through coughing and sneezing, were not worn.
The report noted management at the home had “considerable difficulty” notifying the public health office about the outbreak once they decided to declare it on April 20th. Inspectors found “in general” that healthcare arrangements for residents during the outbreak were “satisfactory” and residents were seen expediently by their doctors. There were also good contacts with local hospital services when residents required admission.
Their report also noted that residents said they were well cared for and enjoyed life in the centre.
