Sir, – Carol Coulter’s claim (Opinion, June 7th) that it is only “fortuitous” that good private nursing homes exist is an insult to the staff, managers and owners of private and voluntary nursing homes that provide a “home from home” to almost 22,000 people in communities throughout Ireland.
Particularly insulting is the insinuation in the article that nursing home staff are “unqualified and under-qualified”. The staff in the nursing home sector care deeply about their work and are committed to the residents they care for. Training, qualifications and further education are of critical importance and value and a requirement under the national quality standards. Training and education courses that are focused on continuously improving the quality of care provided to resident are continuous within the homes we represent.
Increasingly the sector is becoming a vital source of employment for care and nursing graduates who recognise the professional development associated with a career in private and voluntary nursing homes. Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) members are committed to being employers of choice and providing continuous professional development and training for staff.
The author refers to "light touch regulation". The nursing home sector is subject to robust regulation and inspection and is, arguably, the most heavily regulated element of the Irish health sector. The radically changed regulatory environment of recent years has been supported by NHI and its members. Since Hiqa assumed responsibility for inspection of nursing homes, nobody in the sector or with a knowledge of it could regard the registration and inspection process as "light touch". Hiqa in its report, Designated centres for older people: an analysis of inspection findings during the first 15 months of inspection, acknowledged the "productive co-operation" of nursing homes "in both delivering quality outcomes and in improving standards of care continuously".
To enhance her knowledge of our sector I invite Ms Coulter to spend a day in one of our member nursing homes. She will observe at first hand a caring environment that has the residents, their care and quality of life at its core. Witnessing at first hand the emphasis that is placed upon quality of life and excellence in care provision in nursing homes, Ms Coulter can ascertain an accurate and informed picture of our sector. – Yours, etc,
TADHG DALY,
Chief Executive,
Nursing Homes Ireland,
Oak Road,
Dublin 12.