Nursing home censured after damning reports

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority has issued an enforcement notice against the home, this following a third critical report raised serious concerns over the quality of food, hydration and how information was recorded, as well as the sharing of underwear between residents.

The latest unannounced inspection earlier this month - one of three carried out in under a year - discovered what the RQIA called a “lack of attention to patients’ choice, privacy and dignity”.

The report was also critical of communication between certain sections of staff and the attitude of some towards residents.

During the past 12 months the watchdog also reported residents had been left to sit in soiled underwear; meals were left in front of residents with no-one available to help them eat the food; residents were sitting for hours without being moved; one patient was injured by a badly fitted piece of equipment; staff rewere porting they didn’t have time to bring residents drinks and patients had waited for an hour for a response after calling for help.

A spokesman for the RQIA said this week: “In December, following the identification of serious concerns in relation to care at Kingsway Nursing Home, RQIA issued two notices of failure to comply with regulations to the management of this service.

“These notices set out the actions required by the home, within a specified timeframe, to achieve compliance with regulations.”

He also said the safety and wellbeing of every patient at Kingsway was of paramount importance to RQIA, who would continue to monitor the home, which has until February 11 to take action on foot of the enforcement notice.