HIQA inspectors have made a number of recommendations following inspections at centres for people with disabilities in Donegal.
Unannounced inspections were carried out at Moville Residential Group Home, Abbey Village Group Homes and Teach Iarnroid.
HIQA reports that at Moville Residential Group Home, overall there was improved leadership and management arrangements however, some areas required improvements in terms of staff training, and support and deputising arrangements for the person in charge, consistent staffing, and access to adequate financial resources.
Inspectors found that work needed to be carried out to ensure a policy on safe Wi-Fi provision is provided, that all staff attend sexuality awareness training and that staff safeguarding awareness auditing is carried out.
A number of training gaps were found at Abbey Village Group Homes with nine staff having never completed fire safety training while five staff required safeguarding training. Training was also required for some other staff in behaviour management, manual handling, hand hygiene, infection prevention and control basics and standard precautions.
A number of staff vacancies were also noted.
The provider also failed to fully repair a fire door first noted in 2020.
Teach Iarnroid meanwhile, was found to be fully compliant.
HSE REPSONSE:
Re: HIQA inspection Teach Iarnroid
Teach Iarnroid is a Community Group Home providing a residential service to people with intellectual disabilities. The centre opened in late 2022 and is a modern, spacious four-
bedroom bungalow that can accommodate four residents. Each resident has their own bedroom and access to communal areas such as the kitchen and sitting room. Teach Iarnroid is staffed in accordance with the needs of residents, including staff who sleep over at night. The centre is in close proximity to the nearest town and transport is available to residents at all times.
This centre was inspected on the 30th of January 2023 and the report was published on the HIQA website on April 24th 2023.
On the day of inspection fourteen regulations were inspected with the fourteen found to be compliant with standards. The HSE will continue to work to ensure that high quality services are delivered and maintained within Teach Iarnroid.
Re: HIQA Inspection Moville Residential Group Home
Moville Residential Group Home provides full-time residential care and support to four adults with an intellectual disability. This centre caters mainly for residents with low to moderate needs with the aim of maximising their potential for independent living. Moville Residential Group Home is centrally located in a rural town and is close to the town’s amenities. It is a two-storey house with gardens. All residents in the centre have their own bedrooms. Residents are supported by a staff team that includes nursing and care staff. Staff are based in the centre when residents are present and staff are on duty at night to support residents.
The centre was inspected on November 16th, 2022 and the report was published on the HIQA website on April 24 th 2023. 12 regulations were inspected on this date. At inspection there were seven regulations deemed to be compliant with standards, four deemed to be substantially compliant and one
deemed not compliant.
A number of actions have been undertaken to address area identified not to be compliant
with standards and include the following:
- The service will continue to work with the HSE Human Resources department to
recruit staff into vacant positions. - A review of the centre’s training matrix for all staff has been completed and will be
monitored on a monthly basis in support of all training requirements being met. - Information sessions have been provided to all staff on the governance structures
within the centre by way of delegation in the absence of the Person in Charge. - A review of IT systems within the centre will be undertaken in line with service
developments. - The Safe Usage of WIFI policy has been implemented within the centre and a risk
assessment has also been completed.
The HSE will continue to work to ensure that a high quality of service is maintained ongoing
within this centre.
Re: HIQA inspection Abbey Village
Abbey Village is registered to provide full-time residential care and support for up to fifteen adults. The designated centre comprises of three bungalows each having capacity for five residents. The centre is located in a village in Co. Donegal and is in close proximity to all amenities. There is transport available for residents to travel to appointments, shops and to other amenities if they wish. Residents are supported by a staff team of both nurses and care assistants. The Person in Charge is responsible for the three bungalows within one designated centre as registered with the Health Information Quality Authority. The centre is also supported by a Clinical Nurse Manager 1 who works on a full time basis.
The HIQA inspections took place on 31st of January and February 1st 2023 and the results of the inspections were published on the HIQA website on April 24th 2023.
Twelve regulations were inspected on the above dates with seven regulations deemed compliant, four regulations deemed substantially compliant and one regulation deemed not compliant with residential standards.
The HSE has taken a number of actions to ensure regulatory compliance with residential standards is achieved as follows:
- Mandatory training is in the process of being completed by all staff working within the
centre. - The centre’s fire risk assessment was updated to reflect the maintenance works required at the time of inspection and works have been completed.
- A fire drill has been undertaken with the minimum number of staffing and maximum
number of residents. - All residents and their representatives will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the quality of services through the following action – a sample of residents and their representatives will be contacted as part of the Provider Nominee visits to the centre.
- A schedule is in place for all local governance meetings where all staff have the opportunity to raise any concerns regarding quality of care. All local governance meetings minutes are available in each of the houses under Abbey Village designated centre.
The HSE will continue to work to ensure that a high quality of services is maintained within in
the Abbey Village centre.
