This article is from page 7 of the 2009-12-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 7 JPG
THE operation of Cappahard Nurs- ing Home in Ennis has been over- hauled after the Mental Health Com- mission identified “serious concerns and significant levels of non-compli- ance” at the centre.
Cappahard provides care to 35 eld- erly patients suffering from various forms of dementia and mental ill- nesses.
However, the Commission in its June inspection uncovered a number of “dysfunctional systems” at the home when 20 breaches were identi- fied. The Commission sent its report ‘as a matter of priority” to its Acting
Chief Executive Officer and as a re- sult, the Commission decided that an unannounced inspection would take place within three months.
The report followed the discovery of 17 separate breaches in June 2008, which found that the centre breached mechanical restraint policy.
In its damning verdict on the cen- tre, the Commission stated, “There was a lack of managerial and clinical leadership.
“This resulted in policies not being signed, residents not receiving active and timely reviews and a complete lack of clarity on who was to perform physical examinations.
“Local systems for management
and review of risks were absent. In a single small centre, two separate and complex medication systems were in ej oroe leone
‘A number of residents had no ca- pacity to make informed choices and were dependent on profession- als to provide safe and effective care. Scepticism towards the unit being an approved centre was partially responsible for the current level of compliance.
‘Staff must use the protections af- forded to residents under the act to bring about change and improve or ones
The report concluded that a recent audit found that nurses were spend-
ing up to 90 person hours a week completing non-nursing duties and that the agreed staff complement had not been reached due to staff short- eae
The Commission carried out an un- announced inspection of the unit on September 22 when seven breaches were recorded — a decrease of 13 in the space of three months.
The Commission reported that at the time of re-inspection, a signifi- cant improvement in the practices and procedures in Cappahard Lodge had been implemented since the last inspection.
A report on the care provided to the late Gerard Finn (69) at Cappahard 1s
due to be published next year.
Last night, his daughter Lourda said: “It is an absolute disgrace that serious clinical and managerial prob- lems were found at Cappahard last June three years after the fact that this was pointed out to them.”
She said that the Commission un- covered more breaches in June 2009 Wor DeMLMmOnlOMDOMLONNoMPAGLOlon
Mr Finn had Alzheimer’s Disease and angina, and was admitted to Cappahard Lodge in late December 2005.
During his time there, he was ad- mitted to Ennis General on a number of occasions and he died at the home on June 6, 2006.