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A STAFF MEMBER of a nursing home used ”foul and abusive language” to threaten lives while working, according to information received by Hiqa.
The complaint received by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) on 11 May raised issues regarding the misappropriation of money in a nursing home as well as abusive language being used by a staff member and threatening language being used to intimidate people.
The information is contained in documents about various nursing homes around the country released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act.
None of the nursing homes are named, however. All the information provided by Hiqa is heavily redacted to protect the identities of all concerned parties.
The documents deal with information received by Hiqa from people with regards to nursing home care. The information can come from family members of residents, residents themselves, staff members at nursing homes or anyone else who has an issue to raise.
Hiqa is the health watchdog and is responsible for overseeing the standards in all nursing homes around the country.
In the case above, it appears that the complainant alleges that a staff member at a nursing home used threatening language to intimidate other people at the home. Whether the people being threatened are other staff members, residents or anyone else is not clear from the documents.
The entry in full is below:
Unsolicited information
The documents in question deal with information received by Hiqa between 7 March and 21 July of this year.
In total, 138 separate incidents or concerns were filed between the dates in question.
While heavily redacted in many cases, the information raised with Hiqa offers a glimpse into the issues surrounding nursing homes around the country.
Another complaint points towards staff being “verbally abusive” when issues were raised with them. That same complaint points towards personal belongings and clothes going missing, and “bruising with no explanation provided by staff”.
There are mentions of abusive staff in a number of the complaints received by Hiqa.
Many issues raised have to do with sanitary conditions at nursing homes and personal hygiene concerns.
One concerned person found a room in a nursing home “to be generally unclean” with “urine stains on the floor”.
There is also reference made to excrement being “lodged under” what appears to be the nails of a person mentioned, as well as staff wearing dirty uniforms.
Complaints
While some cases point towards extreme cases of elder abuse, in the main the concerns raised have to do with issues around staff, hygiene and food.
Concerns around adequate staffing and properly trained staff at nursing homes make up a large number of the issues raised, as do ones concerned at the level of care being provided.
Another complainant states that “personal hygiene is ignored”; while a separate case states that “staff were rough handling [a patient]“.
A more serious complaint alleges that a phone at a nursing home was answered by someone who was confined to bed rather than a member of staff.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie, Hiqa stated that it did not have a remit to investigate individual complaints received.
“The aim of the Health Information and Quality Authority is to advance high-quality and safe care for people accessing health and social care services in Ireland,” a spokesperson for the organisation said.
Hiqa does not have a remit to investigate individual complaints, however all unsolicited information received is used to inform the Authority’s monitoring of each residential centre.
Where Hiqa has concerns related to the safety of residents and the quality of care that they are receiving, providers are required to take immediate action to address this.
Hiqa inspectors follow up with providers to ensure that the actions are being implemented and are resulting in improvements for residents.
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Swiftly removed after 3 weeks lol
@Mike Brady:
Ehhhr…BnB???
@: that’s a racist comment.
If the Journal wasn’t full of anonymous bot chancers like yourself…
@Richard Walsh: well to be fair @: is a racist
@Keith Collins: ?
Report for racsm
@Mike Brady: “after a number of checks before listing”!
I’m amazed at this error by Booking.com ! Makes me nervous re booking with them again !
@Ger Byrne: If you book through Booking.com after you verify payment block them as they went back and took €50 extra from my account one month later..without my permission..they are seriously compromised
Ive booked a room for December with me mistress. Very deflating news..
@Paul Gorry: Take her up to Monto, and pump her with Gin
How dare you
@Paul Gorry: a brazzer more like
@Mise Freisin: nice.
Can we just stay? Jesus, people are nuts.
That’s why it’s always better to book direct. You often get a better price and definitely get a better service.
I once booked a BnB in Sligo for the weekend and the owner even collected me from the train station. Most people are sound.
Sounds like an angry ex
@Valerie Lowth: Certainly seems like someone with a grudge, rather than a financial scam when they didn’t take payment in advance.
That’s unbelievable. The stuff of nightmares
Booking.Comical :)
I just don’t know what to do anymore.
cowboys absolute cowboys Ted!
@Tom Newell:
Shoddy, shoddy, shoddy
someone booked a listed 2 star for an anniversary. presumably the last anniversary they’ll be enjoying together
To do what in kinnegad, 7:20 is the last food is served in the pub, doesn’t have restaurants open. Nothing to do in kinnegad
It’s normal enough to break the journey to Galway in Kinnegad? I know loads of people who don’t like driving long distances, or after dark.
Mind you, whoever set up that elaborate a false booking account should maybe move to a busier town instead of annoying the residents.
We had a somewhat similar problem (but not as bad!) here when a local large BnB put my Eircode on their website instead of their own
We had no idea and a family turned up at the door wanting to stay the night. A lot of confusion and angry words later they left.
@P.J. Nolan: A poor woman turned up at my parents with their address looking for “AirBnb”. I gave her the directions of the garda station and told her she had been scammed.
@Laura Farrell: I saw the same happen in Dublin city centre the other day – an unlucky couple had booked an Air BnB online that didn’t exist. Just what you need after a long day’s travel. Their taxi driver said it’s happening every week now.
@Laura Farrell:
Indeed, these people had travelled from the north to the south east. I can understand why they weren’t happy but nothing I could do about it.
@F Fitzgerald: Another reason to ban the pox that is AirBnB.
I tell ye if these knocked on me door asking to stay I’d show them both barrels and arsenal full of feckin lead
@: Sure you would.
@Ajax Penumbra: then I’ll look for you Mr tough guy.
You spelled balls and ars@ wrong
It’s our anniversary. Can we stay at your two bedroom, remote home anyway? We don’t mind sharing the toilet bowl
If you can find the “quadruple room”, go for it! There’s another 11 people you’ll be sharing with.
have your say