Cork nursing home residents served cold soup, Hiqa inspectors told

A Co Cork nursing home did not always offer residents hot food for dinner and had issues with fire safety and staffing levels, according to an inspection report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).
The report, published on Tuesday, follows an unannounced inspection in May of the 50-bed, Aperee Living Conna centre, located near Fermoy, Co Cork.
Inspectors noted “a small number” of residents said staff were slow to answer call bells while there was no one assigned to organise activities for the residents on the morning of the inspectors’ visit.
As a result some residents “spent long periods of the morning sitting in the day room, with little stimulation or interaction”, the inspection report said.
A number of residents told one of the inspectors their daytime soup was served cold. The inspectors themselves noted one resident did not get their meal until almost an hour after other residents and during an evening meal there were no hot food choices available. Residents were offered sandwiches, scones, fruit and yoghurt for the evening meal, the inspectors noted.
The inspection report concluded conditions at the home were not compliant with the requirement to ensure that each resident is provided with adequate quantities of food and drink which are properly and safely prepared, cooked and served.
Inspectors also noted work had begun on a number of fire doors in the centre, but “there were no builders on site and the person in charge was not aware why they were not”, the report said. The inspectors said “prior to the inspection, assurances had been provided to the chief inspector that builders were on-site completing the outstanding fireworks”.
Inspectors were also concerned with the care provider’s management of the centre’s finances. The report noted “failure by the provider to ensure the centre was tax compliant resulted in a delay in fair deal payments to the centre, which, in turn, resulted in delayed payment of staff”.