Care home residents being relocated in part due to management of Covid-19 outbreak

Frail and elderly residents are being relocated from a Belfast nursing home over “ongoing concerns” relating partly to management of a Covid-19 outbreak.
Residents are being moved due to concerns about a Covid-19 outbreak in the home.Residents are being moved due to concerns about a Covid-19 outbreak in the home.
Residents are being moved due to concerns about a Covid-19 outbreak in the home.

A recent watchdog inspection prompted urgent intervention at the 100-bed Clifton Nursing Home which caters for older people with dementia, Stormont health minister Robin Swann said.

A regulator of standards warned patients and staff could be put at risk of harm due to problems surrounding infection prevention.

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The minister said: “I very much regret that this serious intervention has become necessary.

“There have been ongoing concerns about this home, with recent inspections from the RQIA and ongoing regulatory activity.

“Given the current situation facing care homes with Covid-19, decisive action is essential.”

The property at Hopewell Avenue near the Crumlin Road in the north of the city is part of Runwood Homes and has 100 beds.

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Runwood Homes’ website describes itself as leading the way in care for older people across the UK, including those living with dementia.

The minister said: “Action has been initiated to start relocating residents from Clifton Nursing Home in Belfast due to ongoing concerns about the way it is being run.”

Senior nursing and other staff from Belfast Trust are helping in the home, which is essential to give the necessary time to move residents at a safe pace, he said. the concerns relate in part to its management of a Covid-19 outbreak, he added.

An inspection of Clifton by Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) staff on May 15 identified concerns about governance, management and leadership.

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