44 nursing homes closed during covid pandemic up to December 2022
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Some 14 nursing homes closed down last year including one which was closed by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), a new report on the sector shows with a loss of 414 beds.
The trend of closure is particularly stark in rural areas in the west of Ireland, inspectors for Hiqa found.
Hiqa has also recorded an increase in group ownership of nursing homes and a corresponding decrease in individuals owning these facilities.
Since the pandemic hit in 2020 and up to December 2022 some 44 nursing homes closed, compared to just 16 between the years 2018 and 2019.
While the figure for 2020 is distorted by some HSE-owned homes being re-purposed during the first wave of covid-19, Hiqa still raised concerns about the closures.
Owners told them they closed for various reasons, including “financial viability, staffing difficulties, burnout after two years of coping with the covid-19 pandemic, and a recognition that operating a nursing home was not an attractive career proposition for the next generation.” Some said the cost of upgrading facilities to meet Hiqa regulations is a factor, the report shows.
“In such cases, registered providers reported that the cost of bringing their premises into compliance could not be supported by their business model,” the report states.
As of December 31, 2022, there were 557 nursing homes in Ireland registered by the Chief Inspector, providing 31,674 registered beds.
The data shows the HSE now operates 20% of homes which provide 16% of beds. Only 3% of homes and 3% of beds were delivered by HSE-funded centres.
This leaves 77% of nursing homes operated by private providers, with these beds making up 81% of all nursing home beds.
Hiqa also received 978 pieces of unsolicited information referring to concerns around care in nursing homes. This was a 4.5% decrease from the 1,024 pieces of feedback received in 2021.
Concerns were raised around assessment and care planning, personal care, nutrition and hydration, healthcare, falls management, and medicines management.
Hiqa inspectors carried out 726 inspections in nursing homes last year.
They found homes were compliant or mostly compliant with 88% of regulations assessed against.
However, the report identifies several areas for improvement in nursing homes such as premises, fire safety, and infection prevention and control arrangements.
HIQA chief inspector of social services Carol Grogan said nursing homes faced great challenges linked to the pandemic.
“However, we continue to identify that where there are effective governance and management arrangements in place, nursing homes have higher levels of compliance with the regulations and better outcomes for the people who live in them,” she said.
She noted “room for improvement” in key areas such as infection control and fire precautions.” HIQA deputy chief inspector of social services Susan Cliffe added: “The last few years have undoubtedly been very challenging for nursing homes.
“2022 saw a return to normal visitation for residents, something which had been greatly missed during the height of the pandemic.”
Read the full report on www.hiqa.ie.