A HIQA inspection of a designated centre for disabilities East Clare has found that staff were not formally trained in the administration of medicines.
Camphill Community Mountshannon was found to be non-compliant in four of the eight areas assessed.
The unannounced HIQA inspection took place on the 16th of March of this year, following an inspection in January which identified “significant areas for improvement”.
The recent report has found Camphill non-compliant in four areas, substantially compliant in two and fully compliant in a further two.
One of the starkest findings was the lack of formal training received by staff in safe administration of medications, with the report stating that the person in charge, who was not a medical professional, had given a brief overview on how to administer medication.
Governance and management was highlighted as an area of concern with the report noting “the provider had not ensured that there were robust management systems in place to ensure the service was safe, appropriate to the resident’s needs, consistent and effectively monitored”.
HIQA observed issues with written policies and procedures as no safeguarding policy was found to be in place in relation to looking after the safety and wellbeing of residents in the presence of visitors and other non-staff members.
In addition, while each resident had a personal plan as required, it was noted that some information was out of date and there was no evidence of the effectiveness of the plans.
Overall, HIQA found the facility had “begun the process of implementing their compliance plan” and acknowledged improvements in the maintenance of the premises and infection prevention and control.
However, it stressed that significant areas for improvement remained.
