Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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429. To ask the Minister for Health if he will take immediate action, and amend legislation to allow the Health Information Quality Authority to investigate individual complaints within residential care and nursing homes, as these persons are the most vulnerable citizens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7874/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Health Information and Quality Authority is the independent authority established under the Health Act 2007 to drive continuous improvement and to monitor safety and quality in Ireland’s health and personal social care services.

Since 2009 all nursing homes - public, voluntary and private have been registered and inspected by HIQA. During the course of this Government HIQA’s function has been extended to residential services for those with disabilities and child protection services.

As regulator, HIQA’s remit operates at the level of facilities rather than that of individual complaints, but the requirements at facility level impact very directly on how individual cases are dealt with.

All nursing homes are required to have an accessible and effective complaints procedure, including an appeals process. They must investigate all complaints promptly, and following investigation put in place any measures required for improvement. Records of complaints made are required to be kept. These are available for inspection, thus enabling the HIQA inspector to determine whether the complaints system is sufficiently robust.

HIQA takes into account and uses all information received to inform and plan its regulatory activity, and information on individual cases can provide useful pointers in this context. HIQA’s programme of both scheduled and unannounced inspections helps to ensure that standards are maintained and where issues of non-compliance arise, that these are addressed and rectified. If a nursing home is found not to be in compliance with the Regulations it may either fail to achieve or lose its registration status. HIQA also has wide discretion in deciding whether to impose conditions of registration on nursing homes.

My Department, in consultation with both HIQA and the service providers, is working on an ongoing basis to improve and update the requirements that apply to nursing home care. Any request from HIQA for an extension of their remit on the lines suggested by the Deputy will be carefully considered.