A Co Wexford nursing home did not have systems in place to contain a “significant” Covid-19 outbreak resulting in 32 residents and 12 staff becoming infected, inspectors from the health service watchdog found.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) carried out an unannounced inspection at Valentia House Nursing Home in Camolin – a care facility that is home to 38 residents – on March 1st last.
Hiqa said “a history of poor compliance” with healthcare regulations had been noted at the privately owned nursing home during two previous inspections in 2020 and 2021, with conditions being imposed on the home to meet staffing and infection control regulations by the end of last year.
On the day of the inspection in March, Hiqa expressed concerns about staffing levels, infection controls and overall governance and management at the nursing home.
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An escalating Covid-19 outbreak over the days following this inspection required Hiqa to carry out a follow-up inspection on March 14th to ensure residents were “receiving adequate care and support” and that the home was containing and managing the outbreak effectively.
Following the first day of the inspection, the regulator held a “cautionary” meeting with the nursing home to discuss concerns it had about staffing levels in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Inspectors were not assured that the centre could sufficiently staff the centre due to the poor staff contingency,” Hiqa said in the 32-page inspection report published on Monday.
Agency staff were brought in to cover staff shortages and the HSE was required to step in and provide two nurses for a short duration to supplement staff numbers, the report says.
Despite a noted refurbishment in the home from an earlier inspection, Hiqa found that given the building’s size and layout, the allocated cleaning staff hours were not sufficient and the nursing home was not cleaned to a high enough standard to control the spread of the virus.
Inspectors discovered that large quantities of personal protective equipment (PPE) were stored in outdoor wooden sheds that were not watertight and damp PPE boxes were found stored on the floor. Hiqa said this was addressed following the March inspection.
The nursing home was found to be in breach of eight regulations in all, including rules covering staffing, infection control and record-keeping.
The report into Valentia House Nursing Home was one of 49 reports published by Hiqa where inspections were carried out between January and April. Hiqa found that 15 nursing homes were either fully or substantially compliant with regulations. The remainder were not compliant with at least one regulation. Nine nursing homes were found to be non-compliant with four or more regulations.
