The health watchdog has issued a damning report into Mowlam Nursing Home in Sligo.
Several issues of noncompliance were found during the unannounced inspection back in April of this year.
The centre, located in Ballytivnan, can accommodate a maximum of 62 residents. It’s a mixed gender facility catering for dependent persons aged 18 years and over, providing long-term residential care, respite, convalescence, dementia and palliative care.
A total of five non-compliances were discovered during the inspection, with issues in the likes of staffing, fire precautions and infection control.
Some call bells rang for more than six minutes before being responded to by a staff member.
Residents informed the inspectors that they often have to wait for staff to help and support them as ”they are very busy”.
The provider did not have management systems in place to ensure that the service was safe and effectively monitored.
The deployment of staff resources in the lower ground floor of the centre was not adequate to meet the needs of all residents.
There were insufficient storage facilities available on both floors to store clinical equipment. The inspectors observed patients moving and handling equipment, such as hoists, being stored in the corridors. This practice restricted residents’ access to the grab rails in some corridors, making it challenging for them to move around the centre freely.
There was insufficient storage space in the twin-bedded rooms for residents to store their personal belongings and valuables. As a result, some residents’ personal items, such as shoes and bags, were placed on the windowsill or the floors of these rooms.
The provider did not ensure that infection prevention and control procedures were consistent with the national standards for infection prevention and control in community services published by the Authority. This was evidenced by:
The floor linings of bedrooms and the shared bathrooms were found to be visibly dirty, and the inspectors noticed a strong and unpleasant smell emanating from two shared bathrooms located on the lower ground floor of the building. This malodorous smell persisted for several hours during the morning of the inspection.
The carpet floor linings of many communal areas were visibly dirty and the carpets were not clean.
The door knobs of some bedrooms and shared bathrooms on the ground floor were found to be visibly dirty.
The bedside cabinets of a number of residents were disorganised, and many of these cabinets contained opened food items, such as biscuits, marshmallows, and sweets. These food items were not securely stored to manage the risk of contamination and pest control in the centre.
The cleaners’ trolleys were visibly unclean and posed a cross-contamination risk. In addition, these trolleys were left unlocked and unattended in a corridor, which would potentially give passing residents access to cleaning products from the trolley.
The laundry was poorly segregated, and there was no clear separation between dirty and clean areas. Two bags of dirty linen were placed on the floor near clean items, and this arrangement posed a cross-contamination risk. • Several items of moving and handling equipment, such as wheelchairs and hoists, were visibly unclean, and an appropriate system was not in place to ensure equipment was cleaned after each use to prevent cross-contamination and cross-infection.
The provider’s arrangements for reviewing fire precautions was not effective and not in line with the requirements.
There was inappropriate storage of combustible items, such as arts and crafts materials, a cleaning trolley, a wooden altar and a foldable table underneath a staircase. The smoking room door was propped open with a chair, which posed a fire safety risk.
The provider’s arrangements for the containment of fire in the centre was not effective and not in line with the requirements. Fire-stopping measures were not adequate, and the electrical cables that penetrated the laundry, sluice, and linen storage room ceiling were not properly fire-sealed and had some gaps. • The fire doors in several bedrooms on the ground floor and first floor did not close fully when released.
Management at Sligo Nursing Home has taken steps to make a number of necessary improvements.
