Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
751. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health the responses he is planning to make to the report into the death of a person (details supplied) a former resident of a nursing home who died in 2020; if he will ensure the extension of HSE safeguarding and protection teams and clinical governance systems across all private nursing homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33809/23]
View answerMy officials are engaging with the relevant parties on the progression and implementation of the recommendations contained in the report in question, so that the learning from this tragic death can inform improvement in relation to the quality and safety of service provision.
Significant changes and improvements have been made in recent years arising from learnings during the pandemic. The Nursing Home Expert Panel Report published in August 2020, identified the need for a Clinical Governance Oversight Committee to be established in all nursing homes and the HSE is identified as the lead agency for this recommendation. The HSE established a Clinical Governance Working Group to consider issues relating to clinical governance in nursing homes and to support the development and piloting of a model of clinical governance committees. Funding was provided to the HSE, and work is underway to design a pilot which will be implemented later this year.
The Government has provided a comprehensive suite of measures for nursing homes which is cognisant of the health and well-being requirements of people living in long-term residential care. Such measures include:
• The Patient Advocacy Service was extended to private nursing homes from 1st November 2022.
• Revised Regulations were signed in December 2022 to enhance and streamline complaints processes which came into effect on the 1st of March 2023.
• A new dedicated Infection Prevention and Control resource and Safeguarding Specialist Capacities for nursing homes have been established across the 9 Community Healthcare Organisations.
• Recruitment has also commenced for Community Support Teams with 44% of recruitment completed for phase 1 implementation.
• Training and development opportunities continue for staff working in nursing homes with a new palliative and end-of-life programme for nursing homes launched in 2022 and over 100 places funded on postgraduate gerontological nursing training courses for the academic year 2022/2023.
• More broadly, a General Scheme of a Bill was published in October 2022 to give the regulator (HIQA) further powers, including in relation to enforcement and data collection. Furthermore, the Patient Safety Act has been signed into law in May 2023 providing the Chief Inspector in HIQA with investigation powers for serious incidents in nursing homes.
In addition, the Department of Health is at a very advanced stage in its development of an overarching policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector, which is intended to cover all public, voluntary and private settings. It is planned to commence a public consultation on a draft policy in September.
