Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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618. To ask the Minister for Health the position regarding each of the recommendations made in a report (details supplied) on a nursing home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24454/18]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Following the publication of the report referred to by the Deputy the Health Service Executive established a working group in 2007 to coordinate and finalise all outstanding issues pertaining to the report.

The working group completed a comprehensive report in 2007 which indicated that action from the recommendations had been completed, or that work was ongoing to ensure compliance with the recommendations. The recommendations were superceded subsequently by the Commission of Investigation into the Management, Operation and Supervision of Leas Cross Nursing Home and by the Health Act 2007 which established the Health Information and Quality Authority.  This provided for the registration and inspection of all nursing homes – public, private and voluntary. Independent inspections carried out by HIQA commenced on 1 July 2009. This system replaced the previous one, under which the HSE registered and inspected private nursing homes only.  This responsibility is underpinned by a comprehensive quality framework comprising regulations and National Quality Standards.  

The Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013, replaced the 2009 Care & Welfare Regulations. These regulations contain provisions for the purposes of ensuring proper standards of care for nursing homes and include health care planning, residents’ rights and protection from abuse. Operators must arrange comprehensive assessments of the health, personal and social care needs of residents and prepare and individualised care plan based on this assessment. The regulations also provide for training and staff development and include requirements for the management and control of operations of nursing homes.

Revised National Quality Standards were approved by the Minister for Health in 2016, placing a stronger focus on quality of life and a person-centred approach to the care of all residents.

The recently published overview of HIQA regulation of social care and healthcare services 2017 recognises that there remain some issues to be addressed, and the Authority will continue to focus on these key areas through its inspection programme. It acknowledged however that many nursing home providers go beyond basic compliance with the regulations and are striving to achieve quality improvement as set out in the National Standards.  

Separate to the regulatory regime introduced in 2009 the Deputy will be aware that the Nursing Homes Support Scheme was also introduced that year to address the then inequity in the treatment of public and private long-term nursing home residents and to alleviate the financial hardship being experienced by long-term residents in private nursing homes. The scheme supports individuals in need of long-term nursing home care regardless of whether they choose public, private or voluntary nursing homes.