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Response to scabies at nursing home ‘lacked coordination’

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A poorly coordinated response to an outbreak of scabies at a Kilkenny nursing home led to non-compliance in infection control, according to an inspection report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

The report says that a significant number of residents and staff had shown signs of a contagious skin infestation since September 2024, almost ten months prior to the inspection.

A clinical diagnosis of scabies was made by a GP, and a dermatologist confirmed crusted scabies, which is a severe and more contagious progression of infestation.

The public health team was notified and an outbreak of scabies was declared at the end of May this year.

The report says the response to the outbreak was “fragmented and lacked coordination and oversight”, which “likely contributed to the persistence of the issue”.

A review of documentation by HIQA indicated that residents showing signs of infestation were not immediately isolated pending clinical diagnosis and for 24 hours after initial treatment.

This, according to the watchdog, may have allowed the infestation to spread between residents, staff and possible visitors.

Two residents had completed their initial course of treatment on the morning of the inspection. However, staff were unclear regarding the required duration of isolation following the initial course of treatment.

The report points out that clothing and bedding were mismanaged after residents received treatment for confirmed or suspected scabies, with unnecessary delays prior to sending for laundering.

Additionally, items that could not be laundered, such as slippers, shoes and soft toys, were not appropriately managed when residents were treated, according to the report.

Bedrooms were also not routinely deep cleaned when residents were treated for the condition.

The provider was required to take urgent action following this inspection to ensure there was local oversight, supervision and assurance mechanisms in place to ensure that the outbreak was effectively managed.

The inspection report is one of 50 published today.

Evidence of good practice and compliance with regulations and standards were found in a number of inspections.

However, 19 centres were non-compliant with three regulations or less, and seven centres non-compliant with four or more regulations.

In a South County Dublin nursing home, the registered provider failed to take all reasonable measures to protect residents from all forms of abuse.

Some had a history of responsive behaviours, which were a known safeguarding risk to other residents and had measures documented to mitigate risk.

However, the measures had not always been effective and had failed to protect residents from abuse, according to the report.

When inspectors visited the home in June, multiple residents, visitors and staff reported that the temperature in the centre, including some bedrooms and communal areas, was excessively warm.

This was a significant issue during the inspection, according to HIQA.

The inspectors were informed that the central heating could not be switched off, nor could the settings be adjusted to account for the outdoor temperature.

A number of instances where residents were not adequately supervised were also observed.

A resident who had been assessed as being at high risk of falls was seen standing on a chair with no staff present.

Three residents in the sitting room were also seen sitting for 20 minutes without staff supervision and without access to a call-bell for assistance if required.

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O’Leary calls again for passenger cap to be abolished

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25 September 2025

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The chief executive of the Ryanair Group has renewed his call on the Government to abolish the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, which he wants scrapped before the end of the year.

Michael O’Leary accused the Government of “blatant inaction” and doing “nothing” to address the 32 million passenger limit, despite a pledge in the Programme for Government.

Earlier this month, the Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said he will be bringing legislative options to Cabinet on lifting the cap.

But the Ryanair boss has criticised the move said any such legislation would not be passed until next year, which is too late.

“They have a 20-seat majority. Pass the legislation to scrap the cap before the end of December,” he stated.

Michael O’Leary also said while he does not know the detail of what is going on between daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs and the daa board, he said: “If it’s costing €1.2m to get him out of the position, frankly, they should keep him and get rid of the board.”

“You could get rid of the board for less than €100,000,” the Ryanair boss said.

“I think he’s been perfectly adequate as chief executive of daa. We do have major problems with the daa and their continued plan to build a tunnel under the airport that nobody needs, but he is as good as anybody else who’s likely to come in and replace him,” he said.

On the issue of drone disruption at European airports, including in Denmark, Michael O’Leary said drone flying over airports should be “shot down” or “electronically disabled.”

He also said the tourism industry is facing “considerable challenges” at the moment and he said a removal of the passenger cap will help in addressing the issues.

Mr O’Leary also urged the Government not to cut the VAT rate for the food-led hospitality sector from 13.% to 9%, which he described as “a scam.”

But he also said labour costs should not be passed onto the sector through an increase in the minimum wage, as recommended by the Low Pay Commission.

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Café Sol pesto pasta and chicken recalled over listeria

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1 hour ago

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25 September 2025

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The Food Safety Authority has recalled a batch of Café Sol pesto pasta and chicken over the presence of listeria.

The impacted product has a use by date of 25 September 2025 and weighs 224g.

The FSAI said notices will be displayed at point-of-sale and urged those who purchased the product not to eat the affected batch.

Retailers have been requested to remove the pasta dishes from their shelves.

Distributors have been asked to contact their impacted customers, recall the affected batch and also provide a notices in their premises.

Symptoms of listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications.

Pregnant women, babie, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly, are more vulnerable to such infections.

The time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing is on average three weeks but can range between three days and 70 days.

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Swinney apologises to injured footballer over ambulance wait

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2 hours ago

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25 September 2025

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28 minutes ago

imageCharlene Paterson

First Minister John Swinney has apologised to a young footballer who had to wait five hours for an ambulance after breaking her leg.

Brooke Paterson, 19, was injured while playing for Linlithgow Rose away at Cumbernauld United in North Lanarkshire on Sunday.

The central midfielder from Bo’ness, near Falkirk, has since undergone surgery in Forth Valley Hospital.

Speaking in parliament, Swinney apologised to Ms Paterson and expressed his “regret” at the situation.

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has also apologised for any distress caused by the delay in getting to the match, which it said was due to high demand and hospital turnaround times.

After the case was raised by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar at First Minister’s Questions, Swinney said that it appeared the ambulance call had been misclassified, meaning it did not have “the priority it should have had”.

“That is not acceptable,” he said.

“That is an error that has been made and we have to look into whether that is the case and whether there are other steps that need to be taken to remedy that.”

Sarwar accused Swinney of having “broken the system” and said families across the country were suffering as a result of waits for accident and emergency treatment.

imageCharlene Paterson A girl with long brown hair smiles at the camera. She stands in front of a wire fence with grass behind it and she appears to be wearing a football stripCharlene Paterson

Ms Paterson said she ran to get the ball at the same time as a United player during the Lowland League match.

“She went for a slide tackle and I got the bad end of it,” she told BBC Scotland’s Drivetime programme.

“It just snapped straight away. I heard the snap and knew something bad happened.

“I just remember being in total agony and screaming and crying. I couldn’t focus – people were trying to talk to me and I couldn’t hear anybody. I was in a lot of pain.”

Teammates and onlookers at Guy’s Meadow Stadium rushed to her aid and several phoned for an ambulance after realising the seriousness of her injury.

“The ambulance said that it wasn’t a 999 emergency and I had to wait,” she said.

“The hours kept adding on and adding on, and I was getting more and more upset and frustrated. I was cold as well because I was lying on the ground.”

People covered her in jackets to keep her warm and comfortable as it got dark.

“I was more annoyed at the fact that they let me lie there on the wet grass, completely freezing with a bad injury,” she added.

“They took their time to come and get me. I just couldn’t believe they could do that to anyone.”

imageCharlene Paterson Two people kneel around a woman covered in a pile of jackets lying on the grass of a football pitch. It appears to be the eveningCharlene Paterson

When asked if the apology from the SAS was enough, she said: “I don’t know.

“I don’t know that they won’t do that to someone else and it’s obviously happened before. An apology isn’t enough to fix these problems.”

It is not known when Brooke will leave the hospital, as she is still struggling with the pain as well as putting weight on the injured leg.

“I’m just really, really sore and tired all the time,” she said.

The footballer said she had suffered bad injuries before, adding: “I know I can come back from something like this, but I know it’s going to take a while.

“I just need to remember why I play football in the first place and that will keep me going. It’ll get hard at points but I can’t give up. I’ve came too far to give up on football now.

“When I’m playing football, all my worries go out the door. I don’t have any problems when I’m playing football. It’s always brought me joy no matter what.”

Ambulance apology

A SAS spokesperson said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Paterson for the delay in the ambulance response and for any distress caused.

“We can confirm that we received a number of calls on 21 September to attend this incident but due to high demand and hospital turnaround times which ranged between 90 minutes to three hours in the area, this significantly delayed our response and we unfortunately could not attend immediately.

“When a time is appropriate, we would ask Ms Paterson or her family to contact our patient experience team directly so we can look into this case further and personally discuss our response. We hope Ms Paterson is recovering well.”

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