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Improving Quality of Life for Older People in Long-Stay Care ...

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estra<strong>in</strong>t should only be used <strong>in</strong> cases where residents pose a threat <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>juryto themselves or other residentsa complete nurs<strong>in</strong>g review <strong>of</strong> each resident should be undertaken at least everysix monthsa wide range <strong>of</strong> normal activities should be made available to residents andcompetent residents should be free to judge the risk to them posed by certa<strong>in</strong>activitiesvisit<strong>in</strong>g arrangements by families and friends <strong>of</strong> residents to the nurs<strong>in</strong>g homeshould be flexiblevisits from volunteers and members <strong>of</strong> the local community should befacilitatedthere should be a mechanism with<strong>in</strong> nurs<strong>in</strong>g homes to deal with <strong>in</strong>-housecompla<strong>in</strong>ts.48The Code <strong>of</strong> Practice was an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g and welcome quality <strong>in</strong>itiative <strong>in</strong>tended tobroaden the scope <strong>of</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g regulatory structures <strong>for</strong> nurs<strong>in</strong>g homes <strong>in</strong> Ireland.It focused on quality <strong>of</strong> care and quality <strong>of</strong> life <strong>of</strong> residents. It recognised theimportance <strong>of</strong> choice and autonomy <strong>for</strong> older people, their empowerment throughconsultation, their connectedness to the outside world and their <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong>mean<strong>in</strong>gful activities. The ma<strong>in</strong> difficulty with the code was, and is, that it rema<strong>in</strong>svoluntary and the actions recommended are not subject to monitor<strong>in</strong>g or evaluation.Moreover, like the regulations, the code is conf<strong>in</strong>ed to private and voluntary nurs<strong>in</strong>ghomes and does not cover public long-stay <strong>in</strong>stitutions.2.5 Problems with Current Regulatory StructuresThe problems <strong>of</strong> the current regulatory structures <strong>for</strong> long-stay care <strong>in</strong> Ireland arewell known and have been articulated <strong>in</strong> many reports and commentaries (O’Shea,1991; Ruddle et al., 1997; NCAOP, 2000; Women’s Health Council, 2001; Mangan,2003). Some <strong>of</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong> concerns <strong>in</strong> this area are that:there are no national standards <strong>of</strong> careexist<strong>in</strong>g regulations are conf<strong>in</strong>ed to nurs<strong>in</strong>g homes and voluntary homesthe lack <strong>of</strong> tangible outcome measures means that standards <strong>of</strong> care are largelydependent on the personal <strong>in</strong>terpretation <strong>of</strong> different <strong>in</strong>spectors<strong>Improv<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Quality</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Older</strong> <strong>People</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Long</strong>-<strong>Stay</strong> <strong>Care</strong> Sett<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> Ireland

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