Home standards ‘totally inadequate’

NURSING home care standards are totally inadequate, too vague and open to interpretation, the Irish Nursing Homes Organisation (INHO) has argued.

"Unfortunately, there are some irresponsible nursing home operators in this country, but there are no proper sanctions to tackle them," INHO chairperson Paul Costello said.

Current standards of care were policed by public health nurses and environmental health officers, but they were officers of the State the main purchaser of nursing home care.

What was needed, he said, was an independent regulator and inspectorate to ensure that proper care standards were strictly enforced.

The INHO, which has just over 100 members and represents just 25% of all nursing homes, is also anxious to ensure that minimum staffing levels and minimum standards are built into the regulations.

"It is crucial now that measures are taken now to ensure there is no repeat of what occurred at Leas Cross Nursing Home," he said.

Mr Costello said he personally felt very embarrassed when he saw RTÉ's Prime Time exposé of the way patients were treated in Leas Cross and could empathise with both the relatives and patients involved.

He said the INHO had been trying to engage with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to implement a service level agreement. "We have been frustrated at every junction over the last 18 months," he said.

Mr Costello said the Minister of State Seán Power was aware the organisation had been stymied in its efforts to get a service level agreement.

If proper management structures were in place, incidents like the ones highlighted could have been avoided or minimised.

If questions were raised about whether elderly people were being cared for in a safe environment, then the HSE would be best advised to find alternative accommodation for them.