Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres For Older People) Regulations, 2009

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 236/2009
• Year: 2009

S.I. No. 236 of 2009

HEALTH ACT 2007 (CARE AND WELFARE OF RESIDENTS IN DESIGNATED CENTRES FOR OLDER PEOPLE) REGULATIONS 2009

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 30th June, 2009.

I, MARY HARNEY, Minister for Health and Children, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 101 of the Health Act 2007 (No. 23 of 2007) hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2009.

Commencement

2. These Regulations come into operation on the 1st day of July 2009.

Revocations

3. (1) The Nursing Homes (Care and Welfare) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 226 of 1993 ) are hereby revoked.

(2) The Nursing Homes (Care and Welfare) (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 379 of 1993 ) are hereby revoked.

(3) The Nursing Homes (Care and Welfare) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 147 of 1994 ) are hereby revoked.

Interpretation

4. In these Regulations:

“the Act” means the Health Act, 2007;

“communication” means the use of mail, fax, email, internet, telephone or any device for the purposes of sending or receiving messages or goods;

“Chief Inspector” means the person who is appointed Chief Inspector of Social Services in accordance with section 40 of the Act;

“competent person” has the same meaning as that contained in section 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005;

“designated centre for older people” means a designated centre to which paragraph (a)(iii) or paragraph (b) of the definition of “designated centre” in section 2 of the Act applies;

“directory of residents” means a record of residents established under article 23 of these regulations, which may be in electronic or other format and contains the information set out in Schedule 3, paragraph 3 of these regulations;

“individual care plan” means a plan developed in accordance with article 8 of these regulations;

“inspector” means a person appointed as an Inspector of Social Services under section 43 of the Act;

“medical record” means a record kept or retained in pursuance of article 25 of these regulations;

“personal property and possessions” means the belongings and personal effects that a resident brings into a designated centre; items purchased by or on behalf of a resident during his or her stay in a designated centre and items and monies received by the resident during his or her stay in a designated centre;

“record” means any record kept or retained in pursuance of these Regulations and includes any memorandum, book, plan, map, drawing, diagram, pictorial or graphic work or other document, any photograph, film or recording (whether of sound or images or both), any form in which data (within the meaning of the Data Protection Act, 1988 ) are held, any other form (including machine-readable form) or thing in which information is held or stored manually, mechanically or electronically and anything that is a part or a copy, in any form, of any of the foregoing or is a combination of two or more of the foregoing;

“resident” means a person living, and provided with services, in a designated centre;

“resident’s guide” means the written guide produced in accordance with article 21 of these regulations;

“staff” means persons employed by the registered provider to work at the designated centre but does not include a volunteer or a person employed under a contract for services;

“statement of purpose” means the written statement compiled in accordance with article 5 of these regulations;

“standards” means standards set by the Authority under section 8 of the Act and approved by the Minister under section 10 of the Act.

PART 2 Maintenance, care, welfare and well-being of persons resident in a designated centre

Statement of Purpose

5. (1) The registered provider shall compile, in relation to the designated centre, a written statement (in these Regulations referred to as “the statement of purpose”) which shall consist of:

(a) a statement of the aims, objectives and ethos of the designated centre;

(b) a statement as to the facilities and services which are to be provided by the registered provider for residents; and

(c) a statement as to the matters listed in Schedule 1.

(2) The registered provider shall provide a copy of the statement of purpose to the Chief Inspector and shall make a copy of it available on request to residents.

(3) The registered provider shall keep the statement of purpose under review.

(4) The registered provider shall notify the Chief Inspector in writing before changes can be made to the statement of purpose which affect the purpose and function of the designated centre.

General Welfare and Protection

6. (1) The registered provider shall ensure that:

(a) all reasonable measures are taken to protect each resident from all forms of abuse, and

(b) there is a policy on and procedures in place for the prevention, detection and response to abuse.

(2) The person in charge shall:

(a) make all necessary arrangements, by training staff or by other measures, which are aimed at preventing residents being harmed or suffering abuse or being placed at risk of harm or abuse; and

(b) record any incidence and take appropriate action where a resident is harmed or suffers abuse.

(3) The registered provider shall ensure that there is provided for residents maintained in a designated centre:

(a) suitable and sufficient care to maintain the resident’s welfare and well-being, having regard to the nature and extent of the resident’s dependency and needs as set out in their care plan;

(b) a high standard of evidence based nursing practice;

(c) appropriate medical care by a medical practitioner of the resident’s choice or acceptable to the person; and

(d) opportunities to participate in activities appropriate to his or her interests and capacities.

Residents’ Personal Property and Possessions

7. (1) The registered provider shall ensure that the designated centre has written operational policies and procedures relating to residents’ personal property and possessions.

(2) The person in charge shall ensure that a record is kept of each resident’s personal property signed by the resident and this record must be kept up to date.

(3) The registered provider shall ensure that adequate space is provided for a reasonable number of personal possessions and that each resident retains control over their personal possessions.

Assessment and Care Plan

8. (1) The person in charge shall ensure each resident’s needs are set out in an individual care plan developed and agreed with each resident.

(2) The person in charge shall:

(a) make the resident’s care plan available to the resident;

(b) keep the resident’s care plan under formal review as required by the resident’s changing needs or circumstances and no less frequent than at three-monthly intervals;

(c) revise the resident’s care plan, after consultation with them, unless it is impracticable to carry out such consultation; and

(d) notify the resident of any review.

Health Care

9. (1) The registered provider shall ensure that all appropriate health care is facilitated and that each resident is supported on an individual basis to achieve and enjoy the best possible health.

(2) The person in charge shall ensure that:

(a) where medical treatment is recommended and agreed by a resident that it is facilitated;

(b) when a resident requires physiotherapy, chiropody, occupational therapy, or any other services as may be required, access to such service is facilitated by the registered provider or by arrangement with the Executive; and

(c) a resident’s right to refuse treatment shall be respected and documented and the matter brought to the attention of the resident’s medical practitioner.

(3) The Executive may provide services (being services of a kind provided by or on behalf of the Executive for the purposes of its functions) to a designated centre at the request of the registered provider upon such terms, charges and conditions and to such extent as the Executive may determine, following discussion with the registered provider of the centre.

(4) The registered provider shall ensure that records are maintained of all referrals and follow-up appointments.

Residents’ Rights, Dignity and Consultation

10. The registered provider shall ensure that residents are provided with:

(a) facilities for the occupation and recreation of residents;

(b) freedom to exercise choice to the extent that such freedom does not infringe on the rights of other residents;

(c) privacy, insofar as is reasonably practicable, to the extent that the resident is able to undertake personal activities in private;

(d) information concerning current affairs, local matters, voluntary groups, community resources and events;

(e) adequate arrangements to ensure the operations of the designated centre are conducted with due regard to the sex, religious persuasion, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background, and any disability of residents;

(f) arrangements to facilitate, insofar as is reasonably practicable, the exercise of their civil, political and religious rights; and

(g) arrangements to facilitate, insofar as is reasonably practicable, consultation and participation in the organisation of the designated centre.

Communication

11. (1) Subject to article 11(2), the registered provider shall ensure that each resident is free to communicate at all times, having due regard to their, and other residents’, wellbeing, safety and health.

(2) The registered provider shall ensure that the designated centre has written operational policies and procedures on communication.

(3) The person in charge shall ensure that:

(a) each resident is facilitated and encouraged to communicate;

(b) each resident has access to...