While it was acknowledged that two staff members had paediatric first aid and that at least one of these adults was on site during the service’s hours of operation, there was no staff member available to the children who had an up to date certification in First Aid Responder (FAR) training. The registered provider provided evidence to the inspectors on the day of inspection of a booking for a FAR course commencing in January. The service previously had a person employed, trained in FAR, up to the end of October
Provider's corrective action:
A staff member has been enrolled on a FAR course
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 10, 11, 16, 19, 23, 29.
Inspection of 15 November 2023 — Inspection Report
(d) The required police vetting was unavailable for one of the staff members, who had resided outside the State as an adult, for longer than six consecutive months
Provider's corrective action:
The registered provider has advised that an application for the police vetting has been made
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. The risk of unauthorised persons gaining access to the early years service was not prevented. The main entrance door was observed to be unsecured during the sessional service. This door led directly to the two care room doors, both of which had key locks on the exterior, with the keys stored in the locks. 2. During the mid-morning snack in Room 2, it was noted that 1 of the children had been provided with grapes, which had not been halved and therefore posed as potential choking hazards. The inspector brought this to the attention of a staff member and prompted that the grapes should be halved, however, this was not ensured following said discussion. Infection Control: 3. Liquid soap, required for effective handwashing, was observed to be unavailable in the staff sanitary facility. 4. In Room 1, the children’s perishable snacks, which included yogurts, yogurt drinks and ham sandwiches, were not refrigerated prior to snack time. This increased the risk of food spoilage and was also found at the previous inspection on 31 August 2021. The CAPA response at the time stated that this issue had been rectified, however, this was not found in practice. 5. Foot pedal operated bins were not provided in either of the children’s sanitary facilities, which increased the risk of cross infection. This issue was also found at the previous inspection. In the CAPA response submitted at the time, the registered provider outlined that new pedal bins had been placed in each toilet facility, however, this was not observed in practice. 6. The staff sanitary facility was used to store various items, such as a mop and bucket, a floor brush, a buggy, a basin, a jug and a large bamboo musical instrument. This posed a risk of cross infection and was also found at the previous inspection on 31 August 2021. The CAPA response provided following said inspection stated that the mop and other items had been moved to a space outdoors, however, storage in the staff sanitary facility remained an issue. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. The response stated that once the children are in their classrooms, the keys will be kept in the possession of the adults. The main entrance door will remain unsecured , however, the inner doors to both classrooms will be secured. 2. A message has been sent to all parents via an application, to ensure that grapes are cut in half. Infection Control: 3. Liquid soap is now available in the staff toilet facility. 4. A fridge has been installed in Room 1. 5. Foot pedal operated bins are now in place in all of the toilet facilities. 6. The mop and bucket have been moved to the back kitchen cabinet, along with the buggy
Regulation 25 — First aid
(a)(b) The use-by date had expired on all of the available medium and large sterile wound dressings and on the one available sterile eye pad dressing. There were no extra-large sterile wound dressings in the first aid kits and only five triangular bandages were maintained, where six were required
Provider's corrective action:
The response submitted advised that the first aid kits had been cleared prior to the inspection, to allow for restocking. The first aid kits have been restocked and supplies are in date