Staff in brain injury support centre were ignoring residents - report

Residents of a supported accommodation facility for people with an acquired brain injury raised concerns that staff were on their phones and ignoring residents, a report from the health watchdog says.

An inspection at Logan House, which is operated by RehabCare in Galway city, also found that one resident did not have a headboard on their bed and their bed was pushed up against a radiator, "putting them at risk of suffering an injury".

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) carried out two inspections at the centre in November and December 2018 and found it was non compliant in 14 categories relating to capacity and capability and quality and safety.

Inspectors said residents made “several complaints” both verbally and in a written questionnaire during the inspection.

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“The inspectors reviewed these complaints, which the residents advised had previously been raised in the centre and found they had not been logged as complaints and had not been addressed,” the report said.

“These related to social activities and access to the kitchen and cooking facilities, as well as staffs’ responsiveness to residents requests. For example, residents had raised concerns about staff sitting in the sitting room using their personal phones while working and ignoring the residents.

“One resident told the person in charge in front of the inspectors that they did not trust the person in charge or staff to act on their complaints or to make a complaint to, as nothing would be done to address their concerns.”

The report said overall the resident’s quality of life and safety was found to be “poor”. Many residents reported they were unhappy and did not feel supported to raise concerns about their experiences.

Inspectors said of particular concern was that the provider had failed to safeguard residents or others from the risk of abuse and failed to ensure there was adequate staffing to meet the changing needs of residents.

Inspectors said there were accessibility issues for one wheelchair user in and around the centre, accessing the entrance and hallway doors, as they did not have automatic door openers in place.

Residents had no bedside lighting “which posed a risk at night to some residents with mobility issues” after the main lights were switched off, should they chose to move around their rooms.

Inspectors found some of the residents’ bedrooms/apartments were not clean, in particular kitchen cupboards, ovens, fridges, apartment floors and toilets.

“A fire exit from a resident’s bedroom had a very steep ramp, which posed a risk to the resident (who was a wheelchair user) in the event of an emergency evacuation,” inspectors said.

In terms of risk management procedures, HIQA said there was a high level of risk at the centre and the provider had not demonstrated that this was being managed adequately.

Inspectors found several residents had slips/trips and falls over the past year. One resident had seven falls out of their wheelchair “but subsequently did not have falls management plan put in place”.

“In addition, the frequency and nature of these falls had not triggered a comprehensive multidisciplinary review to assess the cause and preventative measures that could be put in place to drive forward good falls management in this centre,” inspectors said.

HIQA has published a compliance plan for Logan House, which outlines the regulations the provider must take action on.