Despite three inspections over the course of six weeks, a Moycullen nursing home continued to have poor hygiene standards, substandard food and inadequate staff numbers to run it.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) issued urgent orders to comply with a raft of regulations to Teaghlach Uillinn at Kilrainey, Moycullen, which was registered to care for a maximum of 75 residents. When last inspected in February there were only 47 residents living there.

In the inspection on January 11, the inspectors identified 17 different breaches, four of them deemed the most serious relating to a lack of food and drink for residents, standards for the prevention and control of infections, staff numbers at mealtimes and enough staff to give adequate care for residents.

There was a huge issue with recruiting and retaining staff at the centre. While 30 staff had been recruited since July 2022, a total of 35 staff had left the service within the same period of time.

Feedback from residents was poor, describing the care they received as ‘inconsistent’ and beset with delays due to lack of staff.

Some residents told the inspectors that they would have to shout for assistance because their call bell was unplugged or out of reach. A number of residents were still in bed at midday because there were no staff free to come to their aid.

There were just two care assistants available to support 15 residents with their meals.

Following warnings given in the previous two inspections, the third inspection found a continued lack of oversight of infection prevention and control and a poor standard of hygiene in the kitchen.

The quality of meals served to residents had remained “a very poor standard”.

“Inspectors found that the food preparation, meal cooking, cleaning and washing, storage and service areas were visibly unclean on inspection. Equipment and utensils used for cooking were also found not to be clean.

“Communal bathrooms were visibly unclean on inspection and there was continued poor practice observed with regard to the storage of equipment and supplies to reduce the risk of cross contamination,” the last report stated.

There was poor oversight over the diet of residents who had been assessed as at risk of malnutrition. Residents who couldn’t eat regular food had their meals blended together in a way that was not “appealing and attractive” “in terms of flavour, texture and appearance”.

The standard of hygiene in the kitchen and catering areas “did not ensure that food was properly and safely prepared as the catering environment was not clean”.

“This issue was brought to the attention of the management team during the inspection of January 11 and 27 and this inspection resulting in a third urgent compliance plan being issued to the provider to address the hygiene of the kitchen.”

While there was some improvement in the cleanliness of the bedrooms and communal areas, bathrooms and showers were still dirty.

“The provider had failed to ensure that robust management systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided to residents. Following this inspection, further urgent action was required by the registered provider and the office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services issued a further urgent compliance plan in respect of food and nutrition, governance and management.”

In response, the operators, Knegare Nursing Home Holdings Ltd, said it had recruited more experienced staff, including a regional manager and a second clinical nurse manager to oversee standard of hygiene, mealtimes and kitchen activity.

An extensive cleaning regime had been devised, with a new chef appointed who would meet with each resident and discuss their preferences.