Fire safety issues at older people's residential centres
A new tranche of reports from HIQA has found fire safety issues at a number of residential centres for older people.
The report found St Eithne's Rest Care Centre in Roscommon had a lack of staff, leaving residents unsupervised and significant fire safety issues.
Inspectors found that adequate precautions hadn't been taken to ensure residents were protected from the risk of fire.
They said adequate arrangements also hadn't been made for maintaining all means of escape, while a designated escape route was impeded by office furniture.
At Mount Carmel Community Hospital in Dublin, inspectors were "not assured" that bedroom doors in the 'Maple' section of the centre would achieve their required fire performance.
Most doors were not fitted with closers or smoke seals and, in some cases, the indicated fire rating was lower than would be required by their purpose and location.
Inspectors found evidence of non-compliance in nine centres overall out of the 48 reports released.
HIQA found that staff were not Garda vetted in HSE centres in Ballinasloe and Skibbereen.
It also found Corrandulla Nursing Home in Galway was "unclean" and residents unsupervised.
