Concerns Over Care Homes (IRELAND)

Concern over care homes

08 December 2010

SEVERAL care homes for the elderly have been served "improvement notices" by health department inspectors, and one has closed down voluntarily, after critical inspection reports.

The Audit Office report — covering the period 2006-2009 — has also questioned the regulations allowing unregistered and unqualified carers, including nursing support staff, to work in both residential and nursing care homes.

Following a series of Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) inspections, 29 care homes in Northern Ireland were served a total of 45 "failure to comply" notices along with quality improvement plans.

According to the report published today, ten of the worst performing care homes were also served with notices "imposing additional conditions of registration".

The additional restrictions are described as ranging from restricting admission to the cancellation of a home's registration.

One repeatedly failing care home in Antrim closed voluntarily after failing three separate inspections and an "inability to sustain improvement".

There are almost 10,000 people being cared for in the province's 490 registered care and nursing homes at a cost of £280 million per year on top of the residents' contributions.

The report calls for the health department to establish a "clear time frame" of action on improving staff regulation for the "protection of vulnerable adults", and to improve care quality.


Abridged
SOURCE:      Newsletter.co.uk
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