Nursing homes ‘need scrutiny to protect older people from abuse’

PRIVATE and independent nursing homes must be subject to independent scrutiny to protect older people from abuse, a campaign group urged yesterday.

There is no independent inspection of public nursing homes while privately owned ones are subject to an average of two health board inspections every year.

Just over half of the 26,000 nursing home beds in the country are run by the State.

“It is incongruous that there is no independent inspection of State beds, while private beds are subject to health board inspection, however inadequate that may be,” said Paul Murray of Age Action Ireland.

Today in the High Court, the South Western Area Health Board will seek to close down a privately owned nursing home in Dublin because of serious concern over the welfare of its 23 elderly residents.

The judge, who on Tuesday granted leave to the health board to serve notice to the owner of Rostrevor House in Rathgar, said he took a serious view of the case.

Recent inspections of the home found discontinued drugs were still being administered to patients and there were not enough nurses on duty. Fire safety precautions were inadequate and an unlocked door had allowed patients to wander.

Mr Murray said while a defence of the allegations had yet to be given, it was incredible that as long ago as January 2001 a doctor expressed reservations about the home.

“A rigid inspectorate with full powers, to act instantly is vital, subject, of course, to nursing home owners being given the right to a full and fair hearing,” he said.

He warned that the High Court case highlighted the fact that the location of a nursing home in a ‘polite’ area was no guarantee of quality.

Paul Costello, chief executive of the Irish Nursing Homes’ Organisation (INHO), said the Nursing Home Regulations Act, implemented in 1991, only ensured minimum standards of care were maintained by private nursing homes.

The INHO is setting new and higher standards of care that must be applied by private nursing homes to qualify for membership. Mr Costello said Rostrevor House was not affiliated to the organisation that has 130 members.

“We would be quite happy to work with the Department of Health and the health boards to maintain better standards in private nursing homes because it is in our interests,” he said.

Irish Nurses’ Organisation general secretary Liam Doran said the quality of care in nursing homes was very much left to chance. He said the move by the South Western Area Health Board should serve as a wake up call.