An adult disabled facility north of Cork City was found to be non-compliant in eight different areas related to staffing, administration and resident health and well-being.
A HIQA inspection report for the Coop Foundation’s “Cork City North 5” facility found eight non-compliance issues at a center that currently houses 24 adults with intellectual disabilities.
Inspectors who visited the center last October 27 found that residents generally seemed calm, satisfied and happy at the center.
However, it was found that the center’s staffing levels were not responsive to the needs of residents, particularly in terms of providing staff to support resident activities. This issue was already highlighted in his two HIQA inspections in 2019 and his 2020. Support for residents to participate in the community was sometimes limited.
It was also observed that some staff had not completed or had expired retraining in areas such as fire safety, IPC and protection, use of rescue medications, and manual work.
The inspection found a “high level of violations” in the center’s governance and management, which did not “ensure the center was safe and consistent with the needs of its residents.”
The center was found not to comply with reporting requirements. This was because some cases of a protective nature were not notified to the Chief Inspector within his three working days.
There was also no evidence of proper consultation or rationale as to why certain medical decisions were made, and some staff were unsure which resident’s decisions applied.
Non-compliance was identified with respect to some residents’ personal plans, some of which had not been reviewed since 2019, and residents also did not receive support to engage in the human-centered planning process. I did.
A final issue of non-compliance was identified regarding protection against infection in terms of cleaning the center and Covid-19 protocols.
In response, the center is working to fill all vacant staff activation posts by the end of March this year, with all staff expected to renew their completed training by the end of 2022.
The response also said governance arrangements had been made to ensure proper oversight of the center, and that all unreported incidents mentioned on inspection dates had been retroactively filed.
Deep cleans have been completed, Covid-19 contingency plans have been updated and post-outbreak reviews have been completed, he added. A new digital personal planning system for residents has also been put in place, and providers said they are undergoing a complete review of their DNAR/advanced care planning contracts.
