The HSE is to take over the running of a nursing home with 38 residents in Co Cork amid concerns about governance and staffing levels.
Judge Marian O'Leary granted an application by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) yesterday in respect of Glanmire Residential Care Centre at Glynntown, Glanmire, after being informed that the home's directors, Mary and John O'Sullivan, were not opposing it.
The authority went to Cork District Court on Wednesday seeking an order under Sections 59 and 60 of the Health Act 2007 requesting the cancellation of the registration of the home, which opened in 1986.
Hiqa said it had serious concerns about the residents’ welfare after carrying out inspections on August 19th and 20th.
Section 59 allows the authority to make an application to the court if its chief inspector believes there is a risk to the life or a serious risk to the health or welfare of persons resident in a designated care centre, because of any act, failure or negligence on the part of the registered provider.
Ex parte application
Section 60 also allows the authority make the application ex parte so there is no obligation on it to inform the registered provider that they are making the application. However, Judge O’Leary adjourned the application until yesterday to allow the directors to respond.
During the earlier hearing, Brian Gageby, barrister for the authority, told the court it believed Ms O’Sullivan had failed to show she was a fit person to run the nursing home and had failed to address the deficiencies which had been highlighted by the authority in recent days. Of the 38 current residents, some 16 are classified as having maximum dependency and a further nine have high dependency.
Hiqa regional operations manager Tony Christie told the court the authority believed there should be nine nursing staff to provide 24-hour cover. However, there were only two permanent staff with agency staff making up the shortfall.
While both of these nurses were qualified, he did not believe that they were competent to provide proper care for the residents. Hiqa inspectors had witnessed them making incorrect risk assessments, including classifying one resident as capable of walking when they could not, he said.
Injury
Hiqa inspector
Colleen Conway
told how an 87-year-old woman suffered a fall at the home on July 9th and incurred some soft tissue injury. She said no risk injury assessment was done on the patient for 20 days after the fall.
The woman had a second fall on August 14th and suffered serious bruising to her face. Inspectors found no evidence in her notes of any measures being implemented to mitigate the risk of her falling and they believed she had not been properly monitored since her fall.
The woman had since suffered a third fall on August 23rd and it was Hiqa’s contention that no proper risk assessment had been done.
On being informed, the directors of the nursing home were consenting to the application, Judge O’Leary granted the order for an eight-week period, which allows the HSE to go in and take over the running of the home so residents do not have to be moved.