The Irish charity ALONE has called on HIQA to act fast
‘Good care is a right, not a privilege’
The Irish charity ALONE has called on the Health Information and Quality Authority to act quickly on nursing homes that are found to provide inadequate services for the elderly.
ALONE, the charity which supports older people in need, made the call in light of the report yesterday from HIQA where nursing home inspectors expressed “grave concern” for the safety and welfare of up to 22 residents at the Owen Riff Nursing Home, Co. Galway.
The HSE took over the operation of the Owen Riff centre on Camp Street in Oughterard last month after the inspection by HIQA in April.
ALONE has also called on HIQA to ensure that enough resources are being allocated to carry out spot checks on private nursing homes and to ensure that swift action is taken to address any issues of poor quality service.
They also urged owners and board members of private nursing homes to ensure that the quality of service being provided at their homes is excellent and in line with best practice.
Mr Moynihan said” “We are gravely concerned about the continuous issues arising in relation to the quality of service in certain private nursing homes. Excellent care provision in nursing homes should not be a privilege, but a right.
“We urge owners of private nursing homes to take full responsibility for the level of service provision in their facilities. This is an ongoing problem that requires swift and very decisive action to ensure older people who require the services of private nursing homes, and their families, can be guaranteed of the best services possible.”
“It is unacceptable that residents in this nursing home found themselves vulnerable and victims of neglect and inadequate services. We urge anyone who has concerns about the wellbeing of an older person in a nursing home to contact HIQA or ALONE, and we can act on their behalf.”
Dublin Rose Arlene O’Neill is the favourite to scoop the title this year
Last year saw the Dublin Rose Siobheal Nic Eochaidh making quite an impression, thanks to her hip-hopping antics.
And her successor Arlene O’Neill is also turning heads down in Kerry.
Bookies have installed the Trinity student as the hot favourite to win the overall competition with odds of 11/4, putting her just ahead of Enda Kenny’s Mayo niece Dervla Kenny.
Currently studying for a PhD in physics, she cites former winner Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain as her role model after meeting her while she was filming RTE show The Science Squad. “I actually met Aoibhinn one day in the lab and not that she said it or anything but I thought to myself, ‘She’s a great woman for Ireland’.
“And I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll apply’, so I downloaded the application form and applied. I sent it in and had kind of forgotten about it and here I am,” she explained.
The brainy beauty is also a corporal in the Reserve Defence Forces — and revealed how all her army pals will be at cheering her on from the barracks. She has hit back at claims that the festival had become outdated and wasn’t representative of modern ladies.
“I think with time, the festival has evolved and in today’s festival, we have people who represent the women of Ireland.
“They’re really inspiring and incredible women and we need to put that out there,” she said. This year will see the Dublin Rose taking to the stage tomorrow night and will be the second-last contestant to compete.
Grocery market in Ireland down 0.9% with discount retailers growing
The latest supermarket share data from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland shows that the grocery market has fallen by 0.9% compared with the same period in 2011.
Aldi showed the strongest growth with a 25.2% increase
Kantar Worldpanel Ireland monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 3,000 households in Ireland.
Discount retailers and own brands are capturing more market share with Aldi and Lidl now accounting for 12.4% of the total market. This is for the 12 weeks to 5 August, 2012.
Aldi showed the strongest growth with a 25.2% increase when compared to the same time period last year.
Tesco still leads the way with a 28.8% market share, an increase of 3% from the previous 12-week period.
Supervalu, Aldi and Lidl all saw growth. However, Dunnes Stores and Superquinn saw a decline.
Value for money is driving growth of own brand groceries.
Commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel David Berry said: “Value for money remains at the top of the agenda for shoppers who are becoming more selective about which products they buy and where they buy them.
“This has meant we have seen a surge in sales of retailer own brand goods across most categories, with everyday staples, such as bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits and soft drinks, doing well in particular.
“In fact, over the past two years ambient own label ranges like these have gained an additional four share points within the total market.”
Grocery inflation stands at 2.1% for the 12-week period ending 5 August 2012, down from 2.7% in the previous period, but significantly below the 4.4% seen in August 2011.
The HSE takes over a nursing home in Galway after inspection
The Owen Riff Nursing Home in Oughterard, Co Galway, now being run by the Health Service Executive.
The owners of a nursing home in Co Galway were ordered to cease operating last month after nursing home inspectors expressed “grave concern” for the safety and welfare of up to 22 residents.
Inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found evidence of poor management of medication and inadequate staffing levels at the Owen Riff Nursing Home – a family-run facility in Oughterard.
They also found some residents were “unkempt and unshaven”, and many had not had a bath or shower during the previous month. Instead, the use of a sponge was recorded.
In addition, there were concerns over meals being served late. In one instance, some residents were observed receiving their breakfast when it was almost dinner time.
The registered owner – Riverside Nursing Home Ltd – was ordered to cease operating the facility last month, and later withdrew an appeal against a closure order. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has since taken over the running of the facility.
In reports published yesterday afternoon by Hiqa, inspectors reported that dozens of key concerns highlighted in previous reports relating to the management of medicine, care planning and risk management had not been acted on.
Among their findings were grave concerns over low staffing levels and an inadequate skill mix to meet the needs of the residents and ensure their safety.
Inspectors were seriously concerned that residents at risk of malnutrition were not managed appropriately, and found that main meals were being served on side-plates.
Some of the most serious findings related to the condition of residents.
In an announced inspection between April 20th and 21st of this year, inspectors noted that “throughout the inspection residents were noted to be unkempt and their hair not brushed or combed. Some residents’ clothes were not ironed while many residents’ clothes were dirty.”
In addition, “residents’ fingernails were not cared for and required cleaning and trimming. Male residents were unshaved. There was a ‘bowel/shower’ book in use, this indicated that the majority of residents did not have a bath or shower in the previous month; instead ‘sponge’ was recorded.”
The report noted that some staff were out on long-term sick leave and one nurse had left the service since the previous inspection.
There were two care assistants on duty and one agency nurse on the day of inspection. Inspectors said staff were hurried and had no time to communicate with each other or with residents.
“Some residents were receiving their breakfast when it was almost dinner time.
“One resident was noted sitting in the dining room calling for assistance, there was no staff member to respond. This resident was unkempt, unshaven and his eyes were crusted and sore,” the inspection report states.
Residents who had falls were not routinely referred to the GP for check-ups. One resident sustained four falls, two resulting in head injuries.
Inspectors said previous action plans drawn up by the nursing home provider were inadequate because they did not outline what actions the provider had taken or intended to take to address requirements to ensure residents were safe.
On foot of the Hiqa reports and legal proceeding which began in late April, Galway District Court issued a closure order on July 4th. The owners later withdrew an appeal to the Circuit Court and the order was confirmed on July 31st last.
The HSE took over management of the facility. In a statement yesterday, it said another private provider was currently working to secure registration. In the meantime, the HSE remains as registered provider.
Owen Riff Nursing Home was described as a family-run nursing home in Oughterard which opened in 2003. It had places for 40 residents, though there were 22 receiving long-term care at the time of the inspection.
Some of these residents were described as having cognitive impairments and dementia-related conditions.
OWEN RIFF NURSING HOME KEY INSPECTORS’ FINDINGS
Among the findings of inspectors were:
Among the findings of inspectors were:
Grave concerns over low staffing levels and an inadequate skill-mix to meet the needs of the residents and ensure their safety.
Inspectors found some residents were “unkempt and unshaven”, and many had not had a bath or shower during the previous month.
In one instance, some residents were observed receiving their breakfast when it was almost dinner time.
No evidence that residents had a medical review carried out or their medications comprehensively reviewed since the previous inspection, or that such actions were planned.
Inspectors were seriously concerned that residents at risk of malnutrition were not managed appropriately, and found main meals were being served on side-plates.
The number of medication errors and poor overall medication management posed a risk to the safety of residents.
There was limited access to allied health professionals and no residents had been referred to physiotherapy, dietetic or speech and language services.
Significant concerns in relation to the fitness of the person in charge of the nursing home, who was “disorganised” and did not demonstrate strong leadership skills.
First increase since 2006 in new mortgage loan market numbers
The number of new mortgage loans issued during the second quarter rose on a year-on-year basis, the first time this has happened since early 2006.
The IBF/PwC Mortgage Market Profile reveals that a total of 3,225 new mortgages to the value of €524 million were issued during the quarter, up 22 per cent on the preceding three months.
While the number of total mortgages issued was down 9.2 per cent, both the first-time buyer and mover purchaser segments recorded increased activity year-on-year, something that has not happened for six years.
First-time buyers and mover purchasers together account for 80 per cent of all new mortgages issued at present, according to the study.
“These latest figures show that contraction in activity continues to slow significantly and the second quarter of this year has actually recorded modest growth in both first-time buyer and mover-purchaser activity – something not seen since the first quarter of 2006,” said Pat Farrell, chief executive of the Irish Banking Federation.
“Taken together with recent comments from property economists signalling stabilisation in house prices in key sectors of the Dublin market, we will be looking to the next quarter’s data for confirmation of the trend indicated in this quarter.
“The period to the year end is key as mortgages taken out after December 31st next will not qualify for mortgage interest relief,” he added.
The Professional Insurance Brokers Association said the value of mortgages issued was “entirely unsatisfactory” and went “nowhere near” meeting demand.
“This demand, which is largely unmet because of a severe lending squeeze by the banks, is being driven primarily by people believing that property prices are close to the bottom of the market and the fact that it is as cheap to buy as rent,” said Piba chief operations officer Rachel Doyle.
Goodbody chief economist Dermot O’Leary said while the IBF/PwC data showed an increase in transactions, there was still a long way to go to return to a normal mortgage market.
“It is clear from the data that we are seeing the signs of improvement, albeit from an unsustainably low level,” he said. “Whether this trend continues remains to be seen but we are somewhat concerned by the further tightening in lending standards for mortgages in the recent bank lending surveys from the Central Bank. Furthermore, based on UK comparisons, Ireland still has a long way to go to reach an ‘appropriate’ level of mortgage lending.”
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