Laois nursing home putting residents at risk, according to HIQA report

A NURSING home in Co. Laois has been criticised by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) in a new report.

Droimnín Nursing Home in Stradbally, Laois, has come under scrutiny for providing inadequate services to those under its care.

The report, published 13 January, is based on a four-day inspection that took place over a two-week period in September 2025 due to “significant and serious concerns regarding the safety and welfare of residents living in the centre”.

It states that the dietary requirements of residents who were at risk of choking or had problems swallowing “did not consistently receive meals in accordance with these prescriptions”, placing them at risk of harm.

Residents who had been assessed as needing high-protein, high-calorie diets were not provided with meals that met these essential nutritional requirements.

Furthermore, the report states, the dietary requirements of residents were not communicated to, or known by, the staff responsible for preparing residents' meals or by those providing nutritional care.

According to the report, the food provided “was not wholesome and nutritious nor did it reflect the prescriptions of health care professionals”.

An unannounced nighttime inspection on 7 September also observed residents asleep on chairs in communal areas or calling on staff for assistance to go to bed at night. This is despite care plans specifying that these residents should be assisted when going to bed.

The HIQA report also noted that the registered provider “failed to take reasonable measures to protect residents from abuse and to provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse”.

Residents informed HIQA inspectors that they could not access their bedroom on the first floor independently, even if they wished to do so, as the passenger lift was out of order.

Although inspectors were informed that the lift was only to be used in the case of emergencies, it was observed being used frequently during the inspection, with some staff unaware that there was a fault with the passenger lift.

HIQA inspectors observed that the allocation and supervision of staff was inadequate, particularly at night, with residents in communal areas left unsupervised. Care plans were also not reviewed or updated when a resident's condition changed.

The report also found that Droimnín’s management structure was unclear and inconsistent, with no one appointed to be in charge since 31 July 2025.

Droimnín Nursing Home provides accommodation for a maximum of 70 male and female residents, who are admitted on a long-term residential, respite and convalescence basis.

In a statement, HIQA said that “as a result of the significant risk to the life, health and welfare of residents, on 12 September 2025, under Section 59 of the Health Act 2007, the Chief Inspector made an application to the District Court to cancel the registration of the designated centre”.

A court date was scheduled for November 2025 but was adjourned until 2 February 2026.

According to HIQA, this was due to to "the attachment of additional conditions to the registration of the nursing home together with a number of agreed actions on the part of the provider designed to improve the health and welfare of residents of the nursing home”.

The full report is available to read on the Health Information and Quality Authority website.