A NURSING home in Co Wicklow in which a resident fell and subsequently died has been closed down by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
An order cancelling the registration of Glenbervie Nursing Home, Sidmonton Road, Bray, was confirmed at the District Court yesterday. The 27-bed home already had an interim order against it revoking its licence to operate.
Edward Evans of Landwell Solicitors, on behalf of the authority, told the court that the nursing home’s owner, Noel Gillooly, consented to the order.
Counsel for the HSE said the 27 residents had been moved to alternative accommodation.
Judge Patrick Clyne confirmed the order and commended Mr Gillooly for fully co-operating with the HSE and the authority.
The home had been the subject of a series of inspections by the authority. The two-storey over-basement house opened as a nursing home in 1978. It contained 12 single rooms, six double, three triple and one four-bed room, it was owned by Mr Gillooly and run by his wife, Ann Gillooly.
Residents ranged in age from 40 to more than 90 and a third were under 65 and physically fit. Some residents had alcohol and social problems and demonstrated challenging behaviour toward staff and other residents.
The first inspection, at the end of September 2009, highlighted concerns about residents’ safety and care, including a lack of risk-assessment following falls, poor infection control and incidents of physical aggression between patients. Similar concerns were raised in follow-up inspections in November 2009, January and March 2010.
One report noted the chief inspector had received information about a resident who had a fall and later died in hospital. The information prompted inspectors to focus on risk-management.
There were eight serious incidents in 2009, including residents hitting and kicking others. There were two falls, but accidents and incidents were not recorded or investigated. Concerns were also raised about the control and distribution of medications, as well as the poor standard of record-keeping and care-planning.
The reports noted that Mr Gillooly managed the pensions of nine residents and bought them cigarettes and alcohol, but kept no accounts of what was spent.
“This impinged severely on residents’ right to control their money or have it managed in a safe and accountable way,” the report said.
Inspectors also said patients with swallowing difficulties were served a “homogenised mixture of all components of the meal”. One staff member was observed to leave a liquidised meal in the day room while she did something else and then she served it cold.
The dignity and privacy of patients was not respected, inspectors also found.
In the final report before legal action, inspectors for the authority said they still had significant concerns for the safety and care of residents.
