All nursing homes will be obliged to ensure staff are properly trained and vetted by gardaí under new standards for residential care due to be published next month.
Up to 200 independent inspectors will be recruited to enforce the care standards, which are being finalised by the State-funded Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA).
The standards, which will apply to both public and private nursing homes for the first time, were drawn up following concerns over the care of patients in nursing homes such as Leas Cross.
They will make it easier for health authorities to close down, or reregister nursing homes which fail to provide a satisfactory standard of care.
A working group established by the authority, which includes representatives of nursing home operators and campaigners for the rights of older people, had its final meeting to discuss the new standards in late December. They have yet to be signed off by HIQA, however.
It is expected that inspection and registration of nursing homes will be undertaken by the office of the chief inspectorate in mid-2008.
Recruitment of inspectors is due to begin shortly.
The 32 draft standards set out the rights of residents and include their entitlement to protection, high-quality, safe and respectful care.
Sources familiar with the working group's meetings say the issue of staffing levels are not set out in detail.
Instead, sources say detailed staffing requirements will be set out for individual nursing homes using an assessment tool which is being finalised by the Health Service Executive.
Among the new measures to be contained in the standards will be requirements for nursing homes to:
• Ensure all newly recruited staff commit or those recruited within three years of the standards coming into force should undertake appropriate training within a year of taking up employment.
• Prepare individual care plans for all residents.
• Ensure a minimum of 50 per cent of care staff should have further education and training awards council level five or an equivalent qualification.
• Provide continuous quality assurance mechanisms to monitor the provision of care.
• Give each resident a contract setting out what they should be able to expect regarding accommodation, care and services.
• Desist from using physical or chemical restraints to compensate for inadequate staffing levels, or in the routine management of residents.
• Nursing home buildings should comply with various standards, including fire regulations, as set down in the new code.
Nursing homes which fail to meet these standards or regulations may lose their registration status.
For less serious breaches, nursing homes will be given a conditional registration for a set period of time, during which the home will be expected to meet the regulatory standards.
