HIQA carry out inspection at Corpus Christi

A HIQA report into services offered at Corpus Christi Nursing Home in Mitchelstown has been published in the last fortnight and found that the facility is fully compliant across most areas with some minor concerns raised relating to staffing levels and some fire safety procedures.

The unannounced visit was carried out in January this year, with 40 residents in the centre on that day. Residents were complimentary of the service provided to them, as were four visitors who were present on the day of the visit. A relaxed atmosphere was observed, with large and plentiful communal areas and an outdoor seated area. Daily activities were provided and residents said they were happy with the choice, while meal times were found to be social, respectful and dignified. There was unrestricted access for families and friends to visit and the centre was clean.

Some concerns around staffing levels were reported by the inspector, something that had been raised at a previous inspection in May 2022. At this January visit, the inspector found that overnight there was ‘ only one nurse and two care assistants at this time to provide care for 40 residents’.

“Six residents had been assessed as having maximum level of dependency needs and nine residents had a high level of dependency needs which may require the support of two staff for their care needs”.

In response, Corpus Christi Nursing Home confirmed that they would be rostering two nurses to work at night-time. The staff that were in the centre had all done the appropriate training and the inspector said it was evident that they were familiar with the needs of the residents in their care, as was the ‘person in charge’.

The inspector noted too that storage in the centre had improved since the last inspection, with the storerooms now more organised. New clinical handwash sinks had been delivered, but there was difficulty in sourcing a plumber and so they had not yet been installed.

Fire safety was being well managed overall, but a fire door wasn’t working correctly on the day of the visit and ski sheets were not on the beds of the residents who needed them. Both of these issues were dealt with on that day.