HSE takes over Laois nursing home
Droimnín Nursing Home in Stradbally
THE HSE has taken charge of a private nursing home in Laois, following a district court direction today.
Droimnín Nursing Home in Stradbally has lost its registration, as a result of an application by HIQA due to ongoing concern about patient safety at the facility.
At an adjourned hearing in Portlaoise District Court, Judge Andrew Cody granted the application to remove the registration by consent.
The HSE took over the running of the home with effect from 2pm today.
In a statement issued at 5pm following the hearing, the HSE said: ‘The HSE has assumed responsibility for the operation of Droimnin Private Nursing Home, acting as Provider of Last Resort under the provisions of the Health Act 2007.
‘This action follows regulatory processes initiated by HIQA and has been taken to ensure the ongoing safety, care and welfare of residents.
‘Residents remain living in the nursing home and there are no immediate changes to day-to-day care arrangements. The HSE’s priority is to provide stability and continuity of care for residents, while minimising any distress for residents, families and staff.’
The statement adds: ‘The HSE has put an interim management and clinical governance structure in place, including the appointment of a Person in Charge, supported by senior operational and clinical teams. Arrangements are also in place to ensure appropriate staffing, payroll and clinical oversight.
‘The HSE is engaging closely with residents, families, staff, HIQA and other relevant stakeholders and will continue to keep the situation under review.’
The move follows a series of HIQA inspections that found ‘reasonable grounds of risks to life or serious risk’ to residents at the private home.
HIQA made a court application for cancellation of the licence last autumn, after its chief inspector found there were ‘reasonable grounds of risks to life or serious risk to the health and welfare of its residents’.
An investigation was launched by HIQA after the unexpected death of a woman in her 80s last March, while subsequent inspection reports found that residents felt their rights were not always upheld.
At a hearing in Portlaoise District Court last October, Judge Cody asked both HIQA and Droimnín Nursing Home to resolve outstanding issues through mediation. The matter was adjourned until today’s sitting of Portlaoise District Court.
The healthcare watchdog failed the home in eight out of nine regulation areas in its latest report.
The HSE will take over on an interim basis, pending a decision on the long-term operation of the facility.
In its application, which was brought under Section 59 of the Health Act 2007 last September, Alison Fynes SC for HIQA said it had “reasonable grounds of risks to life or serious risk to the health and welfare of residents” at Droimnín Nursing Home, just outside Stradbally.
At that hearing, defending barrister Ronan Kennedy SC asked for time to take instructions from the nursing home owners and to prepare their case which, if proven, would have “very significant consequences, not only for the registered provider but also for the 49 residents who treat it as their home”.
The court was told that it was only the fourth time HIQA had made such an urgent application in relation to a nursing home since 2016 and it was “not an application that is brought lightly”.
