A care home and a dental practice in Enniskillen have received Failure to Comply Notices from the RQIA (Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority) and have been given two months to improve their procedures.

Ashbrooke Care Home on the Old Tempo Road was subject to an unannounced inspection on November 3. 

The RQIA inspector voiced “concerns” about the quality of care delivered in the old peoples’ home. 

The inspector found that “there was a lack of evidence to demonstrate that safe and effective care and treatment was being delivered in regards to the management of weight loss, wounds, pressure damage and accidents and incidents.”

He found evidence that the home had not taken appropriate actions when it came to managing head injuries and that timely actions had not been taken regarding the management of pressure damage for an identified patient.

In addition, the inspector found that the care home had failed in the following areas: ensuring that care records were maintained with a systematic approach to assessing, planning, reviewing and evaluating care; ensuring that risk assessments and care plans were in place and sufficiently reviewed in response to the changing needs of the patient; ensuring that there was sufficient evidence within the care records to demonstrate that patient weight loss was being identified and appropriately managed; ensuring that patients were being repositioned in accordance with repositioning schedules – repositioning schedules were not maintained accurately; ensuring that professional standards and guidelines in respect of wound care, nutritional management and weight loss were being adhered to; and ensuring that an appropriate quality audit of patient care records was maintained to ensure that the deficits in delivery of care were appropriately identified.

The RQIA has given Ashbrooke Care Home until 11 January 2017 to comply. 

Ashbrooke was taken over by Runwood Homes in August 2016. 

A spokesman from the company told The Impartial Reporter: 
“Runwood Homes has recently purchased Ashbrooke Care Home. We have developed an action plan to resolve these issues identified during the inspection and are working closely with key stakeholders to ensure that the care home meets its regulatory standards. 
“Runwood Homes sets very high standards and I am disappointed that the home on this occasion did not meet the standards that we intend to achieve. 
“We have set aside a considerable amount of money to improve the care home and visitors to the care home will see that this work has commenced. We also intend to create new positions and employment in the Enniskillen area and we have recently appointed a new manager.”

Maguire McCann Dental Surgeons, Darling Street, is also subject to RQIA enforcement activity following an unannounced inspection on November 24. 

During a previous inspection in January 2016, RQIA identified that a new member of staff had commenced but their personnel file was not available for review. John McCann confirmed during discussions that an AccessNI enhanced disclosure check had not been undertaken for that staff member. 

Again, in November, RQIA found that another new member of staff had commenced employment in Maguire McCann prior to the receipt of a satisfactory Access NI check.  

The report stated: “Despite having raised these issues with Mr. McCann during inspections, RQIA is concerned that the safeguards to protect and minimise risk to patients during recruitment are being compromised.”
They have given the practice until February 7 to comply.

In a statement to The Impartial Reporter, John McCann said: 
“The issue here has lain with a simple human error on my part. It was my understanding that all new staff were required to provide an AccessNI enhanced disclosure certificate at the commencement of their employment. However, the regulation actually states that the certificate is required before the staff member commences employment.
“When this was pointed out to me, I fully understood how this compromised our recruitment procedures in relation to safeguarding, and instituted measures to correct the problem. 
“The staff member who had not furnished a certificate had not done so because they have been on long term sick leave since they were asked to provide it, and have still not returned to work. It has been made a condition of their return to work that an enhanced disclosure certificate is provided.”

He added that a monitoring system has been developed to ensure that such an error cannot occur again and that he has arranged a refresher training course for himself.

Mr. McCann explained: “RQIA are the statutory body responsible for inspecting and regulating dental practices in regard to all matters of relevant regulation and legislation. 
“I would like to point out that in all aspects apart from the one issue highlighted, the practice passed our inspection with flying colours. We take our duties to our staff and our patients very seriously. 

“This has been an unfortunate and embarrassing error in misinterpreting regulations in relation to recruitment procedures.  
“However, this has now been fully addressed and I have full confidence that when our practice is re-inspected in February all will be found to be utterly correct,” Mr. McCann said in conclusion.