Inspection of 5 November 2024 — Inspection Report
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. Safe storage of medication was not ensured, which increased the risk of a child accessing and accidently ingesting this medication. Prescribed medication was stored in one of the children’s bags, which was hung on a wall hook, within reach of the children. It was acknowledged that once alerted to this risk, a staff member removed the medication from the bag and placed it at adult height. Infection Control: 2. Appropriate nappy changing practice was not followed, which increased the risk of cross infection. During conversation, one of the staff members outlined that when required, nappy changing was accommodated by placing a changing mat on the floor of the sanitary facility, to change a child’s nappy. This was subsequently observed in practice and was at variance with the service’s Nappy Changing policy, which stated: As children are over the age of 2 years and 8 months, nappy changing is not required. Since it was found that children within this age range did require nappy changing, this policy therefore did not address how staff could safely ensure this practice, in order to meet the needs of the children. 3. A disposable apron was not worn by the staff member during the observed nappy changing procedure. Prior to this, the staff member had stated that disposable aprons were unavailable. This further increased the risk of cross infection. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. In her written reply, the registered provider stated that medications will be stored at adult height and that staff have been made fully aware of this practice. Infection Control: 2. The written response outlined that as the service is located within a National school setting, provision was unavailable for nappy changing. Therefore, all children were required to be toilet trained before commencing. The child has since transitioned to wearing pull-ups and no longer requires nappy changing. As staff support children who are toilet training, they will ensure that these children are in pull-ups and not nappies, when attending the sessional setting. However, if this issue persists, a nappy changing unit will be installed in one of the sanitary facilities, at a future date. 3. Staff have been made aware of the risk of cross infection and a roll of aprons is now available on the premises at all times
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 16, 19, 21, 22.