Sisters of Nazareth contest aspects of Nazareth House HIQA report

The Sisters of Nazereth says it has worked with HIQA to resolve issues highlighted in a report published today which was triggered after a number of residents of Nazareth House died of suspected flu.
The two inspections were carried out by the Authority in early April after seven residents of Nazareth House in Fahan died as a possible consequent of an influenza related illness.
A HIQA report found that the there were some deficits in the standard of cleanliness and hygiene at the home and that there appeared to be no established procedure to enable early detection of influenza in the nursing home.
In a statement released this afternoon the Sisters of Nazereth contest aspects of the report stating it has never been proven that Flu was the sole contributory factor in the deaths.
The full statement is as follows:
“We note the publication of the report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) this afternoon. As the report outlines, we have worked with HIQA to resolve the actions highlighted with immediate effect during the influenza outbreak at the start of April.
A number of protocols have been put in place to ensure that we receive information from other medical bodies when dealing with such outbreaks. The home was not advised of the causes of death of residents who died in Letterkenny General Hospital.
Infection control and emergency policies have been revised in light of the incident which include arrangements to address any future outbreaks of infectious illnesses and the management of communication during a critical event.
As the report also outlines, out of the nine residents (average age 89) that died during this period, seven of these deaths occurred ‘possibly’ as a consequence of an influenza related illness with four passing away in Letterkenny General Hospital. It must be recognised that not all of the deaths occurred at Nazareth House in Fahan, nor that all those who died did so of an influenza related illness.
Post mortems were not undertaken on those who died and therefore influenza as the sole contributory factor to the deaths cannot be confirmed”.