HIQA raises fire safety and infection control issues at Dalgan Park nursing home

Problems with infection control and fire precautions were among the issues identified during a recent inspection of the St Columban’s Retirement Home at Dalgan Park.

The facility was found to be non-compliant in four out of 20 areas during the inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), which took place on 23rd March and was published last week.

Infection control, fire precautions, governance and management and individual assessment and care plans were the categories in which they failed to meet standards.

They were judged by HIQA inspectors to be compliant in eight further categories ad substantially complaint in another eight.

In their report inspectors said "the cleaning policy and appropriate procedures were not implemented."

“There was a flat-mop system in place, however the correct cleaning process was not followed as observed by inspectors on the day of inspection,” according to the report.

“Although the correct chemical solutions were available in the centre, they were not used. For example, the rooms of residents who had Covid-19 had not been cleaned using a detergent and chlorine based solution in line with HPSC guidance.

“Some floors and surfaces were observed to be unclean. Numerous items of equipment were observed to be unclean, such as wheelchairs and commodes. There was no process in place to identify clean equipment from dirty.

“There was damage to some mattresses and cushions preventing effective cleaning. There was inappropriate storage such as commodes stored in the sluice room which had the potential to lead to cross-contamination.

“Some items of equipment/ shower rails had signs of rust therefore preventing effective cleaning. Numerous bathrooms and toilet seats were observed to be unhygienic- some of these had been signed off as clean.

“Laundry skips had no lids to ensure the safe transfer of contaminated linen and prevent cross infection.

“Some staff did not perform hand hygiene between donning and doffing their gloves therefore standard precautions were not being followed.”

The inspectors also said they were not assured of the integrity of the fire doors - some fire doors had drilled holes through them which compromised the purpose of the door in containing smoke in the event of a fire.

“Inappropriate storage of oxygen was observed in a room next to charging batteries for hoists, and without fire hazard signage in place.

“Assurances were received that these oxygen cylinders were removed to an outside storage area after the inspection. “

The inspectors found that there were gaps in the daily safety checks and the weekly checks for emergency lighting and fire alarm testing had not been completed since January 2022.

The inspectors found St Columbans to be a pleasant and calm centre where the residents appeared to be enjoying a good quality of life and were supported to have meaningful roles and relationships within their community and with friends and family.

“St Columban's Retirement Home is situated on the same grounds as St Columban's College enabling residents to continue to engage and interact with the Columban community on site.

“Residents said that they liked their food and always had plenty to to eat. They were happy with the activities and particularly enjoyed walking and live music.”

They told the inspectors that they would often go to the college next door and use the library there but were aware that this was temporarily restricted due to Covid-19 and were looking forward to getting back to normal. Mass was available twice in the day to facilitate social distancing, as this was one of the most important daily activities for the priests accommodated in the centre."

HIQA also published the report of their inspection of the Gormanston Wood nursing home which took place on 13th April.

This facilty was found to be compliant in 12 out of 16 categories and substantially compliant in four.

Staff were not wearing the face masks recommended in the current public health guidelines but the inspector was assured this issue was addressed prior to the end of the inspection.