Vol. 523 No. 4
128 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will establish an independent inspectorate of all nursing homes for elderly people, public and private, to ensure that the highest standards pertain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21294/00]
The Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990, requires all private and voluntary nursing homes to be registered with their local health board. Regulations made under the Act require that there must be proper standards in nursing homes, including adequate and suitable accommodation, staffing, kitchen and sanitary facilities, access to medical care, facilities for recreation and other arrangements to ensure the health and well-being of residents. Nursing homes are required to renew their registration every three years. A health board may impose conditions in relation to registration, including a ceiling on the number of persons who may be accommodated in a home. The regulations provide for periodic inspections by the health boards, which are empowered to prosecute registered proprietors and persons in charge in the event of breaches of the regulations.
At the present time, there are no statutory provisions in relation to standards in community nursing units and other extended care facilities for older people operated by health boards. As the House will be aware, a social services inspectorate was set up on an administrative basis last year. The plans for the inspectorate were that it would concentrate for the first three years on child care and, in particular, on children's residential centres run by the health boards. In the longer term, it is planned that the work of the inspectorate will be extended to cover the full range of personal social services provided by the health boards, including extended care services for older people.
