Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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As this matter affects older people, in the main, I am glad that the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy Áine Brady, is present as I raise this question this evening. Loughloe House has been used as a residence for over 30 years. It currently deals with 26 residents. I suppose its numbers have varied over the years. That is, by and large, the amount of residents it would have at any one time. We all approve of the Health and Information Quality Authority. We approved of its role as a standards body when the legislation came before this House. Its mission is to ensure that private and public nursing homes and residences are of a particular standard. Officials from the authority have visited Loughloe House in Athlone to that end. I do not know how many visits they have made. When the Minister of State replies to me, perhaps she will be able to tell me how many visits were made and when they were made.

People have complained that the authorities in Loughloe House did not know when the inspectors were coming. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle knows from his teaching days that one is not meant to know when inspectors are coming. If one knew they were coming, one would be shining and polishing, stitching and hemming, and having everything beautiful. The Minister of State is aware that HIQA inspectors are meant to call unexpectedly so they can see how the home is run on any given day. They visited Loughloe House on two or three occasions. When will the report setting out the findings of the inspectorate's visits to this facility be issued? I refer to the report which led to the HSE's announcement of its decision to close Loughloe House. That is the first question. There was no intimation of this decision before it was announced. It was not forecast. There was great shock when the news became known.

We all know that much older people are very sensitive about everything. Many people have made Loughloe House their home. They have no landing place other than Loughloe House. I would like to put on the record the level of professional care, commitment and support given by all who work in Loughloe House to its residents. It is a huge level of commitment and support. I understand that HIQA has particular issues with ceiling heights, bed space, adequate recreational space and various other aspects of care in homes such as this around the country. How many visits were made to Loughloe House? When will the draft report to the HSE midlands area become a full report? I acknowledge the legalities involved and that one cannot allow a report to come out that would in any way lead to legalities being invoked because nobody wants that. More important, what arrangements will be made for each person? HIQA-approved nursing homes in the neighbourhood have been trawled for available beds. There would be no point closing one home and sending the residents to a home that is not HIQA-approved. When will that exercise be concluded? The most significant issue for residents leaving what was their home is knowing that they will be moved to a home that is nearby in order that their loved ones and friends can continue to visit them without too much disruption. Are full and proper arrangements being put in place for the residents of Loughloe House? I would also like to establish the lead in to what happened.

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which provides me with an opportunity to update the House. The Government is committed to supporting people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Where this is not feasible, the health service supports access to quality long-term residential care where this is appropriate and we continue to develop and improve health services in all regions of the country and to ensure quality and patient safety.

The Health Service Executive, HSE, has sole operational responsibility for the delivery of health and social services, including those at facilities such as Loughloe House. This institution is a former welfare home located in Athlone, which shares its site with day services for older persons in the area. The Deputy will appreciate that all developments have to be addressed in light of the current economic and budgetary pressures. The executive has been asked to make a rigorous examination of how existing funding might be reconfigured or reallocated to ensure maximum service provision is achieved. In particular, we need to ensure the highest standard of care will continue to be provided to all patients in a safe and secure environment. Any decisions, therefore, taken by the executive must have regard to the current budgetary position and the current moratorium on the recruitment of nursing and non-nursing staff.

As a welfare home, Loughloe House once accommodated up to 40 patients of lower dependency. In recent times, given the increasing dependency of clients and other challenges, the numbers of residents fell to 25. The longest resident has been there for 14 years while the most recent arrival was a year ago. The home is one of two long-stay facilities in Athlone. The second is St. Vincent's community nursing unit, CNU, which is situated in the town centre. They are, therefore, relatively close to each other. There are approximately 60 residents in St. Vincent's CNU. There is one management structure for the two units.

At a broad strategic level, the overall plan for HSE services in Athlone had been to transfer all services to the Clonbrusk area of the town, where lands were purchased by the Midland Health Board in 1999. This would have allowed the proposed Clonbrusk campus to become the hub for HSE service delivery in Athlone. This plan would have facilitated the closure of Loughloe House as well as allowing several other premises to be vacated. In anticipation of these plans, spending on existing infrastructure, including both Loughloe House and St. Vincent's, was limited in recent years.

Given the current financial constraints, the anticipated developments at Clonbrusk have been curtailed and the construction of a new community nursing unit on the site has been postponed for the foreseeable future. As a result, both Loughloe House and St. Vincent's face significant challenges in meeting the necessary HIQA requirements and standards, given the design, age and condition of the two buildings. Loughloe House has been inspected by HIQA. Numerous concerns were raised in the inspection process both in regard to the physical infrastructure and to management-staffing issues. Concerns also exist regarding the fire safety precautions at the home.

With these considerations in mind, the HSE has decided it has no option but to proceed with the orderly, phased closure of Loughloe House. The executive has no intention, at this time, of closing St. Vincent's and it is working towards ensuring compliance with HIQA's standards. There will be a consultation process with Loughloe House residents and their families with a view to organising transfers into private or public nursing homes in the surrounding area. This consultation was scheduled to take place around this time. The overall level of provision of long stay beds in the Longford-Westmeath local health office area will remain adequate to meet patients' needs. There are sufficient vacancies to cater for the residents of Loughloe House.

The safety of the residents is our first concern and we owe them a duty of care. I am sure this House will agree that quality care and patient safety comes first and all patients should receive the same high standard of quality assured care. Unfortunately, due to the current industrial action, this was the most up to date information available as of 29 April 2010. I regret that I do not have more information but if the Deputy wishes to raise this matter with me again, I will endeavour to have the matter re-examined at that stage.

The Deputy asked about the inspections. There is a mixture of announced and unannounced inspections.

Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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How many?

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I could not get that detail for the Deputy but there would have been at least one of each.