'Well cared for': Positive HIQA report on South Longford nursing home
The unannounced HIQA inspection at Thomond Lodge Nursing Home took place March 26 last.
A HIQA inspection has found a South Longford care home was compliant or substantially compliant in all 12 regulatory areas and praised the way residents were looked after.
The Health Information and Quality Authority carried out an unannounced inspection of Thomond Lodge Nursing Home in Ballymahon on March 26 last.
The care home provides 24-hour nursing rehabilitation, convalescence and respite care to 48 residents, male and females.
On the day of the inspection, 48 residents were in attendance at the facility.
The inspection lasted six and a half hours from 9am in the morning until 3.30pm in the afternoon.
The HIQA report found the centre was compliant in nine different regulatory area, which means the service met the relevant national standards and regulations with no action needed.
Those areas were staffing, contract for provision of services, notification of incidents, premises, risk management, health care, managing challenging behaviour, protection and resident rights.
The care home was found to be 'substantially complaint' in relation to three different areas, training and staff development, governance and management and individual assessment and care plan.
Overall, this inspection found that residents were satisfied with living in the designated centre, and said they always felt safe, secure and comfortable in their living environment.
Residents told the inspector they were well cared for and that staff were always available when they needed assistance and support.
On arrival, the inspector was met by the person in charge and she completed a walk around the centre and observed that many of residents were already up and eating breakfast.
The HIQA inspection found in relation to In relation to training and staff development, that 'while all residents were provided with a variety of opportunities to participate in social activities that they preferred, some improvement actions in the staff
supervision were necessary to ensure staff completed residents' social activity care plans, and the records of the social activities residents participated in to the required standards, and in line with each resident's individual preferences and capacities.
HIQA stated that improved oversight by the provider was necessary in relation to governance and management.
The inspector said 'auditing of residents' assessments and care plans failed to identify that residents' social activity care plan documentation was not completed to the required standards'.
HIQA said while each resident's needs were comprehensively assessed and care plans were developed and were regularly reviewed, the residents' social care plans did not contain sufficient detail to guide staff on their preferred social activities and 'posed a risk' that relevant information would not be available to staff.
The provider, who responded in relation the training and staff development minor issue, said they had now 'developed a more robust method of recording daily activities on a paper-based system, which gives a clear insight to the activities attended daily by each resident and their level of participation in each activity'.
The provider also said all residents' social care plans have been 'reviewed and updated to include more detail to guide staff and give clear person-centered information on residents' social preferences, interests and hobbies and their preferred level of engagement'.