{"id":669976,"date":"2026-07-02T15:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/669976\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T15:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:06:08","slug":"dublin-nursing-home-residents-heard-shouting-for-help-due-to-low-staff-levels-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/669976\/","title":{"rendered":"Dublin nursing home residents heard \u2018shouting for help\u2019 due to low staff levels \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Poor staffing levels at a Dublin<\/a> nursing home resulted in residents having to shout for help for \u201cprolonged periods of time\u201d, an inspection by the healthcare watchdog has found.<\/p>\n

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa<\/a>) on Thursday published 54 inspection reports into 23 nursing homes run by Emeis Ireland.<\/p>\n

The group, one of the biggest private nursing home providers in the State, was at the centre of controversy last year<\/a> when an RT\u00c9 Investigates programme highlighted allegations of elder abuse and neglect at two of its centres \u2013 The Residence in Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor in Dublin.<\/p>\n

Following the broadcast, Hiqa commenced targeted inspections of all nursing homes in the group and required the directors of the centres to take \u201curgent action with immediate effect to address the safety and wellbeing of residents\u201d. <\/p>\n

It also requested that all admissions to Emeis Ireland-owned centres be paused with \u201cimmediate effect\u201d while the review of care was carried out.<\/p>\n

According to the inspection reports, a number of the centres were operating to a good standard and providing safe and effective care. However, seven centres were found to have \u201csignificant challenges in delivering safe and effective care\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe chief inspector also made referrals to An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na as appropriate,\u201d the organisation said.<\/p>\n

At The Residence Carton in Raheny, Dublin, inspectors found there was not enough staff to provide care and support for all residents.<\/p>\n

An inspection report noted there were \u201cprolonged periods of time on the second floor where there were no staff available to supervise or assist residents in the corridor, or when residents were calling or shouting for help, as they were providing personal care to residents in the privacy of their own bedrooms\u201d. <\/p>\n

It added: \u201cCall-bells were ringing for prolonged periods on the first floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the day of inspection, there was a list of people who were to be offered showers that day, which inspectors said did not illustrate person-centred care. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, some residents did not engage in any activities and spent much of their day in their rooms, sleeping or lying in bed.<\/p>\n

The inspectors also highlighted how medication was not administered as prescribed and within safe administration times, stating this \u201cposed a risk to residents that had not been picked up by the provider\u2019s own auditing systems\u201d.<\/p>\n

The watchdog carried out two subsequent inspections of the site which it said showed \u201csignificant\u201d improvements in the quality and the safety of the care provided.<\/p>\n

Separately, in Firstcare Blainroe Lodge in Wicklow<\/a>, inspectors found staffing was not adequate when considering the high-dependency needs of residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis had a negative impact on residents\u2019 care and also contributed to institutionalised practices which inspectors observed,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

According to the report, some residents remained in their bedrooms and only got up on alternate days due to staffing concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cInspectors found that the quality and safety of care provided to residents was compromised as a result of ineffective systems of governance and management,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAction was required in relation to residents\u2019 rights, food and nutrition, assessments and care plans, and in the use of restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n

A follow-up inspection in September found there had been an increase in staff levels, particularly healthcare assistants.<\/p>\n

At another nursing home, the Residence in Santry, north Dublin, inspectors noted \u201csignificant fire-safety concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n

The two centres that were the subject of the RT\u00c9 Investigates television programme were among the Emeis Ireland centres that required increased regulatory action. <\/p>\n

However, the reports were not published due to ongoing legal proceedings relating to the access of the video footage relating to the programme.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Emeis Ireland said the body worked closely with Hiqa and stakeholders during this process and has \u201cimplemented significant improvements across our nursing homes\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a number of cases, detailed implementation plans were and are in place with respect of facilities identified with challenges. The wellbeing of our residents remains our highest priority,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Poor staffing levels at a Dublin nursing home resulted in residents having to shout for help for \u201cprolonged…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[7157,102,179985,2960,49286,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-669976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-dublin","tag-health","tag-health-information-and-quality-authority-hiqa","tag-healthcare","tag-nursing-homes","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}