Public Reporting of Adverse Events From Long-Term Care Facilities for Older Persons and People With Disability in Ireland 2013-2019: Development of an Openly Accessible Database and Descriptive Analyses

Objectives: To describe the development of an analyzable database of statutory notifications received from long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and to describe trends in receipt of notifications from 2013 to 2019. Design: Description of database development with descriptive and trend analyses. Setting and Participants: LTCFs for older persons and for people with disability in Ireland. Methods: Data on notifications received and on centers were extracted from a system internal to the health and social services regulator and combined into an analyzable database. Variables were screened for personal information, cleaned, transformed, or redacted and combined into a database suitable for open access publication. Descriptive analyses of the volume of notifications, trends over time and breakdown by service type, notification type, and risk-rating were conducted. Results: The Database of Statutory Notifications from Social Care in Ireland was developed and an open access version published in February 2021. Protection of personal data was an important consideration in publishing the data publicly. Uses of the database include examination of national trends and identification of determinants of adverse events and areas for quality improvement. The number of notifications received increased over time. Quarterly notifications contributed to the largest proportion of notifications (older persons, 36.7%; disability, 39.1%). This was followed by serious injury notifications in LTCFs for older persons (33.3%) and abuse allegation notifications in LTCFs for people with disability (36.0%). Less than 1% of individual notifications were risk-rated red (highest severity level of impact on resident welfare). The types of notifications that were collectively risk-rated highest were staff misconduct, abuse allegations, and outbreaks of infectious disease. Conclusions and Implications: The methodology and findings can inform publications of notifications, planning and resourcing for receipt and submission of notifications, target areas for quality improvement initiatives, mandating of timelines for receipt of notifications, and the mandating of notifications in legislation.