‘Urgent’ - Fire safety and health care concerns at Waterford Nursing home
The report was published by HIQA.
A recent inspection of Waterford Nursing Home has found that the centre's fire safety and health care procedures were non-compliant.
Waterford Nursing Home is a mixed gender facility providing long-term residential care, respite, convalescence, dementia and palliative care.
It had 55 residents in situ on the date of the inspection.
Despite concerns from inspectors in multiple areas, the feedback from residents living in the centre was positive.
The residents told the inspector that they had “no complaints” and that “it was a lovely place to live”.
The inspector also spoke with visitors to the centre, who described the attention to detail provided by staff, saying: “nothing is ever too small to be taken care of."
Another visitor said that the staff “anticipate residents’ needs before being asked”.
The overall premises was clean and tidy, however signs of wear and tear had become evident over time. Décor and flooring in some areas required attention to improve the style and homely appearance of the centre.
There was also insufficient storage space in the centre. As a result, items such as linen trollies and residents' personal care equipment were being stored in the residents' communal bathrooms.
Overall, the residents were supported to live meaningful lives in the centre, where they were encouraged and supported by dedicated and kind staff. Nonetheless, deficits in the quality of some aspects of nursing assessment and care, and fire safety concerns, meant that there was an level of risk to residents that required urgent attention.
Automatic swing-free door closers had been installed on all bedroom doors in the centre.
However, the inspector was informed that approximately eight of these were still awaiting to be connected to the fire alarm, and that in the interim, foot-operated acoustic devices were in use on these doors.
The inspector was told that maintenance staff monitored the use of the acoustic devices and ensured that batteries were charged and they were working correctly.
The inspector identified five bedroom doors where the devices were emitting a constant beeping noise and flashing a red light, indicating that there was a fault or low battery.
While simulated fire drills were completed at regular intervals, management had not identified the most challenging evacuation situations and potential problems that staff may encounter, for example, while the door closers were being changed.
The oversight of aspects of clinical care, such as wound care and weight loss, required significant improvement.
The nursing assessments of wounds, on many occasions did not include any clinical measurements, for example width and depth of the wound.
As per the centre’s records, a number of residents had lost weight over time.
Weights were recorded monthly which clearly identified the weight loss. No action was taken to investigate the cause, or to refer for any specialist assessment by a medical or healthcare practitioner.
