Kilbarry Care Centre was the site of a two-day unannounced HIQA inspection.

The 90-capacity home was found to be the subject of multiple concerns on the Memory Care floor.

The centre, which opened in September 2023 is part of the Mowlam Healthcare Services group.

Inspection

The inspection took place on January 28th of this year, with the results published yesterday morning.

88 residents were present during the inspection.

Many praised the quality of care and the kindness of the staff working day-to-day in the home.

Visitors were observed coming and going, with no restrictions on visiting.

During this time, the meal-time and activities offerings were found to be varied, relaxed, and sociable.

Of the 17 categories assessed by HIQA, 5 areas were found to be non-compliant, 5 substantially compliant, and 7 fully compliant.

Furthermore, a plan was laid out by the management regarding their plans to address these areas.

Areas of non-compliance

Concerns were raised in the areas of cleanliness and hygiene on the memory care floor.

Strong odours deemed ‘unacceptable’ were observed emanating from the toilet and throughout the entrance.

Furthermore, visibly unclean utensils, and food debris and liquid stains were noted in the main dining room.

Additionally, dairy products, including milk and yoghurt were not stored in a fridge in the kitchen area.

In the kitchen, the fridge and microwave were deemed to be unclean.

12 members of staff had not completed training on managing challenging behaviour, with the inspector noting the presence of agitated residents using curse words and shouting in the day room.

Subsequently, a concern was raised by HIQA regarding the dignity of residents of the memory care floor and the impact the glass walls of the day room had on their privacy.

Additionally, the safety and protection of both staff and residents was flagged as an area to be addressed, specifically physical and verbal abuse, evidenced by peer-to-peer abuse incidents witnessed by staff.

In response to the report, Kilbarry Care Centre outlined a full suite of plans to address each concern.

The full report can be viewed here.

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