The Cheshire Foundation in Ireland has handed over the management of a residential centre for highly dependent adults in Cork following the cancellation of its registration by HIQA.
The watchdog said the St Laurence Cheshire facility failed to effectively address consistent findings of poor safeguarding arrangements and of a poor quality of care for residents.
The decision follows findings by inspectors last November that the centre was failing to ensure there was a sufficient number of staff with an appropriate mix of skills and qualifications to provide adequate support and care to some residents.
Enable Ireland took over the running of the centre late last month.
HIQA said it made its initial cancellation decision last November.
In the report published today, inspectors said the centre did not have clinical and management support for their nursing and clinical staff, and in particular for its junior nurses.
An immediate action plan was drafted by HIQA but the Foundation's response to it was rejected as unsatisfactory by the watchdog.
Inspectors also found evidence that the provider had not implemented the actions that it said had been completed in the response to an earlier Notice of Proposal to cancel the registration.
The report recalls that after the Foundation said it would appeal the decision to the district court, the Health Service Executive engaged with the provider to implement an emergency plan to ensure that the immediate safety and healthcare needs of residents were being addressed.
It said the plan included governance and oversight support from both the HSE and "another organisation".
The inspection was resumed in January 2017 in order to verify that the arrangements that had been put in place by the HSE with the consent of the Foundation were effectively addressing what are termed the "complex clinical and nursing care needs" of residents.
The improvements reported after the January inspection persuaded HIQA's chief inspector not to close the centre immediately.
HIQA said it agreed to a request for the deferral of a court hearing while another organisation was identified to operate the centre.
On 28 July, the Cheshire Foundation in Ireland withdrew its District Court appeal and the registration was cancelled.
On the same day another organisation, Enable Ireland, was as HIQA puts it "granted registration of the centre".
