A report has been published by the Health Information and Quality Authority following an inspection at St Theresa’s Hospital in Clogheen.
While the HSE run facility was found to be compliant in the majority of areas examined it did fail to meet standards on three issues.
St Theresa’s Hospital in Clogheen originally opened as a District Hospital in 1926 – at nearly a century old the age of the building led to all three of its non-compliance issues.
In his report the HIQA inspector noted that the premises were not adequate to meet the needs of the residents pointing out that this issue had been identified on previous inspections.
However work is underway on an extension at St Theresa’s Hospital which should resolve the problem.
The lack of space for patients to store their possessions was also highlighted – particularly for clothing or personal belongings.
Residents’ rights were also a cause for concern – again down to the unsuitable design and layout of the multi-occupancy bedrooms.
Hospital management says the extension to the building when completed will significantly improve these issues.
Overall St Theresa’s was found to be compliant in 16 of the 25 Regulations inspected and substantially compliant in 6 with just the three areas already mentioned rate as non-compliant.
The HIQA inspector met with residents or their family members during the visit – they were complimentary about the care they received saying they felt happy and safe there. Patients described staff at St Theresa’s as being very kind, caring and responsive to their needs.
