HIQA highlights concerns over fire risk and 'non compliant' premises at Longford facility

A Longford designated centre for people with disabilities has failed to meet the necessary standard in four out of eight regulatory areas following an inspection earlier this year.

The HIQA assessment highlighted that the fire precautions and premises regulatory areas at Longford Centre 4, which is a residential service run by the Muiriosa Foundation, were deemed 'non compliant' for a second time in just 15 months.

The inspection by Raymond Lynch and Florence Farrelly on April 15 also found that protection against infection and governance and management were below the required standards.

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The designated centre comprised of three single occupancy bungalows with each resident having access to one-to-one staffing every day and one staff sleeping over in each house every night.

The provider informed the Chief Inspector that the three residents, some of whom had been there a considerable time, were very happy and settled.

The recent April inspection was a follow-up following the last inspection on January 15, 2024 where the three houses failed to meet a number of regulatory requirements including fire safety and premises.

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The provider made assurances on that occasion that they had a comprehensive set of plans in place to bring the houses into compliance.

In the first house, inspected on April 15, there was no integrated fire alarm system, no fire doors and no emergency lighting.
Additionally, one of the bedrooms was a room within a room 'which meant the escape route was 'inadequate'.

However in order to mitigate against the risk of a fire in this house, the provider took a number of precautions which included installing a number of smoke alarm detectors throughout the house, which were checked regularly by staff.

The person in charge informed the inspectors all staff had training in fire safety and the inspector noted fire extinguishers and several smoke alarm detectors had been installed throughout the house, which were checked regularly by staff.

In relation to the premises, the HIQA ruled it did not meet the requirements of the regulations as the premises were described as being 'not in a good state of repair'.

The bathroom and kitchen area needed to be replaced and the entire house needed painting.

However, the residence was described as 'homely' and the resident had their own clean and tidy personalised bedroom and sitting room and they appeared content in their home.

The inspection found the second house required refurbishments and painting and some flooring required replacing.
Significant renovations had been completed in the third house since the last inspection in January 2024 to include new flooring throughout, the installation of a new bathroom and a kitchen upgrade with new appliances.

In relation to protection against infection HIQA stated "due to ongoing issues” two of the houses in the designated centre did not meet the regulatory requirements.

HIQA said a number of issues were found across a number of regulation to include staff training records, safeguarding, personal possessions (finances), reporting of notifications and the auditing process.

The staff team consisted of a person in charge, a location manager and a team of support workers and a review of the rosters from April 1 to April 15 found there were sufficient staff on duty to meet the needs of residents.