HIQA report warns of Legionnaires’ Disease risk at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda

A damning report by health watchdog HIQA into Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda has warned of high risks for patients, due to hygiene problems, including the risk of contracting Legionnaires’  Disease.

The Health Information and Quality Authority said it is a “significant concern” that the risk of Legionella persists in the hospital water supply, despite significant financial investment to address the problem.

At Drogheda, shower heads were removed from patient wash rooms in the affected areas 18 months previously as a risk control measure and these had not been replaced, due to the risk for aerosolisation of Legionella bacteria into the environment.

The HIQA report says it is unacceptable that patients have been subjected to inadequate showering facilities for a prolonged period.

It says it is essential Legionella risk at the hospital is managed, especially to protect patients who may be particularly vulnerable to infection.

Environmental water testing by the hospital had identified the intermittent presence of Legionella species in water samples in some patient areas in the older hospital block.

The unannounced inspection found a major problem is the high bed-occupancy and because of this the hospital has problems maintaining areas and upgrading hygiene facilities.

The findings during the inspection in June were so serious that HIQA said a re-inspection was needed within six weeks.

Among the main failures were lack of hand hygiene compliance, safe injection practice, enviornmental and patient equipment hygiene and Legionella control measures.

Hand hygiene was significantly below the HSE national target and access to facilities to wash hands were a problem.

During the inspection, HIQA observed staff open several sterile syringes at the same time, directly on a work top, adjacent to a clinical hand wash sink.

INMO vote for industrial action at St Mary’s Drumcar

Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation at St John of God North East Services, St Mary’s, Drumcar, have voted by 99% in favour of industrial action due to budget cuts and a reduction in staffing levels. The INMO intends to serve notice of industrial action this week.

The Organisation has written to HSE Director General, Tony O’Brien seeking an investigation as to why the HSE Service Improvement Team has sought a reduction in staffing and skill mix at the same time as the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has stated that insufficient staffing levels are having a negative effect on residents within the service, which provides residential and day care for people with disabilities.

The INMO is gravely concerned at the recent HIQA report. Budgets have been cut consistently over the last 5 years and staffing levels reduced to unsustainable levels. Despite a negative HIQA report, management at St John of God Services have written to the INMO in recent weeks indicating their wish to:

1. Further reduce staffing and skill mix within the service;
2. Introduce a cost containment plan as they have overspent by two million euro to the end of May 2015; and,
3. Have non registered staff administer medication instead of the Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disability (RNID).

Speaking about the matter, INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Tony Fitzpatrick said: “The problems currently highlighted within these two centres are widespread especially with regard to inadequate staffing. However nurses, and other frontline staff, go to work every day and, to the best of their ability, use their uniquely acquired skills to provide good quality care and service to their clients.

“They come in on days off, work late, work through their shift without lunch or breaks, while always striving to deliver maximum comfort and quality of life to those in their care. They do this in the face of dwindling resources and extra demands but they do their job with compassion and professionalism which is at the core of disability nursing.”

The INMO and other unions have attempted to engage with management to address concerns over the last 6 months in order to develop workable solutions to ensure the provision of quality care to service users. They are awaiting a date for a meeting further to requests for same.

Mr Fitzpatrick concluded:  “The INMO is gravely concerned at what appears to be an attempt by St John of God Services to de-professionalise the provision of services to people with intellectual disability.  Our members have indicated that they will stand up for the rights of the clients within the services to receive the best possible care.

“We have highlighted our concerns around the Services’ attitude to the role of the Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disability (RNID). We believe any dilution of the RNID role results in a diminution of services to clients.”

HIQA expresses “grave concerns” over level of protection for local children living in direct provision accommodation

HIQA has said it has grave concerns about child protection services in Louth and Meath.

The Health Information and Quality Authority published a report recently on its inspection of the child protection and welfare services provided to children living in direct provision accommodation in four of the Child and Family Service areas, namely Louth/Meath, Midlands, Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan and Dublin North City.

The authority says around 14% of the population of children living in these centres were referred to the Child and Family Agency in one year, compared to 1.6% for the general child population.

In the year to August 2014, there were around 1,600 children living in direct provision accommodation. Of these, there were 209 referrals of child protection and welfare concerns relating to 229 children.

Among the issues identified were physical or mental illness of a parent impacting on capacity to provide quality care for children, mental health issues for children and parents, isolation, and lack of clothes and toys.

Protection concerns included children being left alone for long periods of time as well as proximity of children to unknown adults living on the same site, and inappropriate contact by adults towards some children.

In Louth/Meath, there were significant delays in social work interventions. Of particular concern was that in 27 out of the 38 cases reviewed, children were not met with or seen by social workers to inform their decision making about the referral even though records indicated concerns about their safety and welfare.

There were significant delays in completing assessments and sharing information, which placed children at risk. In this area children did not all receive the services they needed, initial assessments were not completed and some risks were not addressed. In one case there were significant concerns about an allegation of physical abuse of two children and the case was closed without children being visited.

Mary Dunnion, Director of Regulation of HIQA said: “The quality of the child protection and welfare service provided to children across the four areas sampled in this inspection was radically inconsistent. The quality and level of service varied widely across the four areas visited. In the Midlands the service was mixed but in Louth/Meath the service was much poorer and some risks had not been identified and addressed by managers. There was no strategic plan in place to identify and meet the needs of this particularly vulnerable group of children and families.”

Nurses at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital to strike next week

The A&E of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is frequently overcrowded

Nurses at this area’s main hospital will strike this day next week to protest at horrific conditions they claim are putting patients’ lives at risk.

Overworked Accident and Emergency staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda will hold the action next Wednesday November 19 from 1pm-2pm.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said that our elderly have been stripped of their dignity and privacy as they are forced to lie toe-to-toe on trolleys in the hospital’s corridors.

They said that these patients, often in their 80s and 90s, are frequently subjected to a three or four day wait in the overcrowded hospital’s hallways.

Shocking figures released by the group last week showed that the number of patients on trolleys at the hospital had soared by a staggering 243 per cent last month, compared to October 2013, to 631.

Continuously being short-staffed is also making the problem even worse, according to the union.

The INMO said that they have outlined the gravity of the situation in a letter to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) but were told that funding is not available at the moment.

Union members have decided that enough is enough and their members are going to stop all non-essential work to get their voices heard.

Tony Fitzpatrick, INMO Industrial Relations Officer, said that the worsening crisis can be detrimental for people’s health.

He said: “The risk of a death in the Emergency Department increases by 30 per cent when this level of overcrowding exists and it is becoming impossible for our members to provide safe care to patients.”

Mr Fitzpatrick added that the lack of suitable nursing home beds has also had a negative impact on our hospitals.

He explained: “In excess of 60 patients are clinically discharged but remain in acute beds in the hospital due to the lack of step down facilities and this problem needs to be urgently addressed.

“Since 2010 acute and non- acute beds have been closed in the catchment area for example 97 beds were closed in the Louth County Hospital and bed numbers were reduced in the Cottage Hospital, Drogheda, St Mary’s, Drogheda, St Oliver Plunkett’s Dundalk and St Joseph’s Trim.”

He said that some of the €25million that was allocated in Budget 2015 to tackle overcrowding should be used now as we enter into the harsh winter months, where hospital admissions increase.

Louth County Hospital in Dundalk criticised over hygiene standards

The Louth County Hospital in Dundalk

The Louth County Hospital in Dundalk has been criticised for its hygiene standards by Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) officials.

A report on inspections carried out unannounced during June and July found that the Dublin Road hospital had unclean bed frames, chipped paintwork, stained bathtubs and rusted taps.

Hand washing was also found to be “not in line with best practice” while the hospital was also criticised for two infectious patients not being held in isolation units.

Other hospitals that were inspected included St Michael’s in Dun Laoghaire, Our Lady’s in Navan, Portincula in Ballinasloe and Waterford Regional Hospital which was adjudged the worst of those inspected and posed an “immediate serious risks to the health and welfare of patients.”

Future of St Joseph’s Hospital secured with €750,000 investment

St Joseph’s Hospital in Ardee

St Joseph’s Hospital in Ardee is set for a €750,000 injection that will see the long-stay residential unit upgraded to 20 beds.

The news of the funding also secures the future of the hospital, with rumours circulating for a number of years now that the HSE were set to close it as part of a cost-saving process.

The investment, announced today by the Minister for Health Dr James Reilly TD and the HSE, will allow for the development of a sheltered housing/retirement village complex, which will be progressed with additional stakeholders.

Local Fine Gael TD Peter Fitzpatrick was one of the first to welcome the news of the funding.

He said: “Not only will these renovations enable the hospital to meet the HIQA standard 25 by 2015, but it means that patients residing there will be living in of state-of-the-art accommodation with world-class facilities.

“None of this could have been achieved without the support of hospital staff and management who have implemented cost saving measures to run the unit more cost effectively.

“This is an important day for St. Joseph’s and for the many people who have worked so hard to ensure that the nursing unit remains open and that there is minimal disruption to patients residing there,” said Deputy Fitzpatrick.