A NURSING home in West Cork failed to meet adequate fire safety standards when inspected earlier this year, according to a report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).
Inspectors called unannounced to the CareChoice facility in Gurteenroe, Macroom on Wednesday April 9th and found the care home to be ‘non-compliant’ when it came to fire precautions with some escape routes impeded.
The inspector found that nurse stations had documentation and equipment which ‘presented a risk of fire on corridors’.
Two kitchen freezers which had failed the ‘portable appliance test’ seven months earlier had still not been addressed.
The inspector, who spoke with the 59 residents and spent eight hours on site, also found that a storage room had files and folders stored up against an electrical fuse board.
The inspector ruled: ‘The registered provider was not providing adequate means of escape, including emergency lighting.’
He listed examples including two exit doors where the lower frame ‘created an impediment to escape’.
The inspector further highlighted that exit signage was not adequate, and in some cases not visible, there was a curtain across an exit in a sitting room, and areas within escape stairways ‘were being used to store wheelchairs and hoists’.
The inspector also found that the arrangements for maintaining fire equipment, means of escape, building fabric and building services were ‘not effective’.
The report noted deficits to the emergency lighting system, with up to 20 emergency lighting units not working.
Cabling merited ‘further investigation’ while not all fire doors were being maintained appropriately, and ‘some had gaps where each leaf of a double door met and required adjustment’.
The kitchen extract and duct ‘was overdue its cleaning; where not cleaned, a build-up of grease may increase the risk of fire’.
An exit door was found to be ‘not easily openable when tested by the inspector and required action during the inspection to address this’.
Action was also required to ensure adequate measures were in place to safely evacuate residents from the building.
These actions included clearing the boundary of fire compartments on the first floor.
The inspector found: ‘Considering the varying evacuation strategies at the different levels, in particular at second floor, the drills practised had not reflected the scenario where a full fire compartment was evacuated.
‘The refuge area within the stairway landing (area within the stairway landing to provide an area of relative safety during evacuation) had hoists and equipment stored within.’
Overall the inspection found CareChoice substantially complaint on capacity and capability/governance and management, substantially complaint on quality and safety, and not compliant on fire precautions with an orange (moderate risk) rating.
The inspector noted that a finding of not compliant ‘means the provider or person in charge has not complied with a regulation and considerable action is required to come into compliance.
