Glowing report on Leamlara nursing home

An unannounced HIQA report on Brookfield Care Centre in Leamlara has found an ‘ethos’ of respect in the centre and overall, were very complimentary of the practices they observed in the centre.

The facility has 63 single bedrooms, three of which were vacant on the date of the inspection, February 1st this year. The inspection was to specifically examine the facility’s restrictive practices, be they physical, environmental (such as a door that is difficult to navigate) or ‘rights restraints’, like access to cigarettes.

The report noted that outdoor activity was encouraged via the external nice pathways and a ‘garden room’ that was used for parties. Afternoon tea could also be booked and trade was ‘brisk’ for the upcoming Valentine’s Day.

While the door had an access code, the residents knew this and could go out independently, and on the day of the visit a games session was on in the morning, with an outing to a garden centre planned for that afternoon to stock up on the necessary for spring planting. For those that decided not to go, a lively music session was held, with residents singing along with the musician.

The centre had a walking group and one resident, a former chef, took on the task of baking for other residents. Another had a great interest in birdwatching and for them, they had suitable books in their room and a bird table.

‘Subtle’ signs were on the relevant doors of residents who were susceptible to falls, for example and residents had their breakfasts at different times throughout the morning. At lunch one resident enjoyed a pint, while another looked forward to a hot toddy every night.

Some residents, for whom English was not their first language, were accommodated using a picture recognition system and some staff spoke the required languages, such as French and Italian.

Six residents used bedrails and care plans were provided for each and for patients with dementia ‘every effort’ was made to ensure their rights were respected. 20 residents had low-low beds instead of bedrails and the two inspectors were satisfied that residents were not ‘unduly restricted’.