A HIQA report has revealed that residents in a HSE-run community hospital in County Leitrim had to go without a bath or shower for a month or more because of staff shortages.
St Patrick’s Community Hospital in Summerhill, Carrick-on-Shannon has 82 residents aged over 65 - some of whom are receiving palliative care.
In most cases residents were offered a shower just once a fortnight.
HIQA inspectors found the hospital was fully compliant with just 6 out of 18 standards tested, although substantially compliant with three others.
They found some staff did not have up-to-date training and that staffing was inadequate.
HIQA, which carried out the inspection in March, also reports that the toilets were inadequate, and there were insufficient hand-washing facilities.
The report states that "while residents and family members told inspectors that they were happy with the services provided by this hospital, they were concerned about the inadequate staffing in the centre."
The report also found some improvements since the last inspection of the facility, with 'significant improvements' to quality of food and nutrition provided to residents, and a restructuring of staffing rosters.
