'Happy and content': Longford nursing home praised by HIQA for residents' care

​A Longford nursing home has received glowing praise from HIQA inspectors following an unannounced visit by the watchdog who praised the centre and staff who ‘could not do enough’ for residents.

​Laurel Lodge Nursing Home was found to be compliant in all 11 regulatory areas during an unannounced HIQA inspection on July 22 last.

The HIQA report outlined that the Longford town facility was 'compliant' in respect of staffing, training and staff development, records, insurance, governance and management, notification of incidents, complaints procedure and written policies and procedures.

The nursing home was also 'compliant' in relation to visits, personal possessions, end of life, premises, food and nutrition, information for residents, risk management, individual assessment and care plan, healthcare, managing challenging behaviour, protection and residents' rights.

Residents' feedback provided an insight of their lived experience in the centre and they spoke positively about their experience.

The people that the HIQA inspectors engaged with commented that they were very satisfied with the care they received and their living environment.

One resident told inspectors, 'I am very happy and comfortable here', and another resident said, 'the staff are all very nice to me and get me everything that I need'.

Residents said that they felt safe and secure and that they could speak with staff, who showed lots of support and kindness to them, if they were worried about anything.

The people living in the home had access to plenty of food and drinks including snacks and refreshments and a choice of quality meals and beverages each day.

Residents benefited from what was described as a 'high standard of care and support delivered by a competent staff and management team that upheld residents’ rights, promoted their safety and wellbeing, and supported a good quality of life'.

The report outlined that they demonstrated a strong understanding of residents’ individual needs and provided care in a respectful, compassionate, and calm manner'.

Residents told inspectors they had a 'wide range of activities available each day, including arts and crafts, bingo, quizzes and music, while activities tailored to residents living with dementia were also provided, such as interactive games and sensory relaxation sessions.

Residents were supported to maintain links with their local community through regular outings and some recent excursions included visits to a garden centre, an agricultural show, the local swimming pool and some residents with an interest in farming regularly attended the local mart.

There was a 'Men's Shed' group in the centre that was well attended and one resident enjoyed assisting maintenance staff with jobs around the building.

Inspectors observed several group activities during the inspection, including a quiz and baking session, both of which were well attended and residents also had access to television, radio, internet services, newspapers and books.

The inspectors spoke with visitors, who were 'observed coming and going throughout the day, and they all expressed their satisfaction with the care provided to their loved ones'.

One visitor stated that they were very happy with all aspects of the service and described their loved one as being 'happy and content'.

Another visitor said that staff ‘could not do enough’ for their loved one and that they 'went above and beyond’ to care for them.

The most recent July inspection was an improvement on the previous HIQA visit last year when the premises still received a highly positive report when it was deemed to be 'compliant' in eight regulatory areas and 'substantially compliant' in three area.

Those areas were namely governance and management, premises and personal possessions and 'substantially compliant' means the standards were generally met but some actions or improvements were required, which were fully implemented at Laurel Lodge.