Londonderry: Nursing home closed to new admissions

Image source, Google Maps

Image caption, The Western Trust had been referring patients for care at Owen Mor nursing home on the Culmore Road in Londonderry.

A nursing home in Londonderry has been closed to new admissions after inspectors raised concerns about its standard of care.

An unannounced inspection by the regulatory body the RQIA identified a number of issues at Owen Mor nursing home.

The home has been given until 26 June to address the concerns.

A spokesperson for Owen Mor said they are confident the problems will be "rectified much sooner".

The RQIA raised concerns about care recording, medicine management, staffing and governance arrangement at the home which has a capacity of 81 people.

Following a meeting with the management of the home, the RQIA issued four failure to comply notices and the Western Trust ceased new admissions pending a review in six weeks.

Image caption, Nicola Brown, whose son Matthew goes to Owen Mor for respite, said her family have had to cancel plans because of the situation

The notices mentioned concerns about staff knowledge including nurses not following policies and procedures as well as inadequate records about areas of patient safety such as falls, feeding and nutrition.

In a statement, RQIA said the safety and wellbeing of everyone living at Owen Mor is "of paramount importance" and they are continuing to monitor the home.

Nicola Brown's 25-year-old son Matthew receives respite care at Owen Mor once a month.

She said that up to now they'd been very happy with his treatment at the home.

"Myself and most parents are angry, because we thought that, 'well our children are going in there and they are vulnerable children'.

"Basically we don't hear anything back from the child because Matthew doesn't talk so we have to listen to what the people in Owen Mor are saying. We thought the staffing needs were perfect."

'Monitored on a daily basis'

A spokesperson for Owen Mor confirmed they accepted the failure to comply notices from RQIA and Owen Mor is "assiduously working in tandem with the Western Trust to "achieve full compliance within six weeks as agreed by the RQIA".

The Western Trust does not own or operate the home but refers patients to Owen Mor for care. A spokesperson said the trust is working with both Owen Mor and RQIA to "ensure the safety and welfare of the clients who currently reside at the care home".

"An improvement plan has been developed and is being monitored on a daily basis," they added.