Clean bill of health for Ardeen Nursing Home in Thurles

Ardeen Nursing home in Thurles has been given a clean bill of health in the latest round of Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) reports.

The nursing home located on the Abbey Road in Thurles was deemed compliant in 20 of 23 categories surveyed, in an unannounced one-day inspection on May 4 this year.

The report, published on July 15, states that the centre comprises 14 single bedrooms, 11 twin bedrooms and one four bedded room, all laid out over two floors.

Ardeen is registered to accommodate up to 40 residents and the provider is a limited company called Ballincaorigh Ltd. There were 31 residents on the day of the inspection.

“Overall, through conversations with residents, and from observations of the day, it was clear that this was a nice place to live and residents were well-supported by kind and attentive staff who were knowledgeable about their individual needs and preferences,” the report states.

Furthermore, “the centre was observed to be very clean,” although “the inspector observed that communal space in the centre was lacking, and the day rooms and the dining room could not accommodate large numbers of residents.”

Many of the residents’ bedrooms were personalised with ornaments, memorabilia and family photographs. Some bedroom retained the ornate fireplaces and plasterwork of the original house. Residents had sufficient space to store their personal items and the multi-occupancy rooms were designed in a way that protected the privacy of each resident.

The inspector saw that there was a comprehensive activities programme in place which was led by the activity coordinator. A variety of activities took place over the two days of inspection including arts and crafts, and a small number of resident attended the local dementia friendly coffee morning with staff.

The inspector observed mealtimes in the centre and found that improvements were required to ensure all residents had a meaningful and social dining experience.

Visitors who spoke with the inspector were very complimentary of the care provided to their relatives, and residents surveys indicated a high satisfaction rate overall.

The inspector found that there were effective management systems in the centre to ensure that residents were provided with good quality care. The registered provider demonstrated good adherence to the regulations. Full report at hiqa.ie