Hiqa flags food and medicine issues at Bray nursing home

The State’s health watchdog identified major problems with how medicines and food were provided to the residents of a nursing home in Bray, Co Wicklow during an inspection last year.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) also noted during its visit in September that residents of the Kylemore Nursing Home had been taken on just two outings for the year.

Hiqa noted five areas of major non-compliance including that the way medicines were administered did not meet professional requirements or guidance. Some residents received their medication up to five and a half hours late on occasion which placed them at risk of serious adverse outcomes, the report says.

Hiqa also said residents were not being provided with the correct diet. None were deemed to be underweight or malnourished but many were described as overweight and some were risk assessed as obese at the time of the inspection.

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‘Outings’

Access to the community for the majority of residents was deemed to be very limited. The inspector noted that only five “outings” had been planned for all of last year, with just two taking place. These were a trip to a park across from the nursing home and one to the nearby seafront promenade. The report also said staff failed to adequately stimulate conversation among residents.

The inspector did not find that the care delivered to all residents was of a standard that would maintain their health and wellbeing, and care plans were not in place to recognise signs of clinical deterioration.

Records viewed by the inspector showed that systems used to ensure the transfer of information inside the nursing home, and to external healthcare providers, were not effective or consistent.

There was a lack of clinical governance at the home and communication between staff, both verbal and written, was poor. The inspector witnessed the early morning handover from night to day staff and noted that little information on the progress or deterioration of the condition of any resident was given.

Hiqa said all relevant incidents were not notified to the chief inspector as required. These included incidents relating to residents absconding and accidental injuries resulting in transfer to emergency departments for review.