Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published an overview report on the regulation of nursing homes in 2022.

The report reflects inspection findings in the period where nursing homes began to return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic conditions as restrictions were eased across the sector, which allowed for a renewed focus on promoting residents’ rights and quality of care.

In 2022, inspectors conducted 726 inspections in nursing homes, finding a high level of regulatory compliance across the centres inspected. Overall compliance was high, with nursing homes found to be either compliant or substantially compliant with 88% of the regulations assessed. The report identifies a number of areas for improvement in nursing homes such as premises, fire safety, and infection prevention and control arrangements.

Carol Grogan, HIQA’s Chief Inspector of Social Services, said: “Nursing homes faced great challenges over the past few years due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, we found that providers and staff were able to begin to return to pre-pandemic arrangements for the benefit of residents. Our inspections found high levels of compliance across regulations, and providers were providing a good quality of care for residents. 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. There is also room for improvement in a number of key areas that impact on residents’ safety such as infection control and fire precautions.”

The report also analyses trends in nursing home ownership and closures. It identifies that individual ownership of nursing homes has reduced over the last five years, and there has been an increase of ‘provider groups’ taking over the operation of nursing homes. Furthermore, the report identifies a trend of nursing home closures in rural areas, particularly in the west of the country.

Susan Cliffe, HIQA’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Social Services, said: “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. We were also able to return to face-to-face engagement with providers and persons in charge, and held a number of webinars and events with them to focus on the rights of residents living in nursing homes.

“As we go forward, we will continue to advocate for residents, and work with nursing homes, residents, and the Department of Health on the key trends identified in this report.”

Read the full report on www.hiqa.ie.

Ends.

For further information please contact:

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications & Stakeholder Engagement
085 8055202, mwhelan@hiqa.ie

Notes to the editor:

• As of 31 December 2022, there were 557 nursing homes in Ireland registered by the Chief Inspector, providing 31,674 registered beds.
• By the end of 2022, 77% of nursing homes were operated by private providers, with these homes accounting for 81% of beds in the sector. The HSE operated 20% of the homes, encompassing 16% of the beds, while 3% of homes and 3% of beds were delivered by HSE-funded centres.
• In 2022, HIQA partnered with the HSE and Department of Health for the National Nursing Home Experience Survey, as part of the national care Experience Programme. The survey provided a further opportunity for residents and their family members or friends, in a representative sample of nursing homes in Ireland, to share their experiences in order to improve the care provided in Irish nursing homes.