Nursing home scandal spurs 300 people to call helpline
The complaints to the Action on Elder Abuse helpline concerning “serious abuse” will be passed onto the gardaí, a spokesperson said yesterday.
The helpline (1800 940 010) already operates a similar service in England, Scotland, Wales and the North.
The claims were after Monday night’s RTÉ investigation which revealed incidents of neglect at Leas Cross nursing home in Dublin, now under the control of the Health Service Executive (HSE).
“There’s a spectrum of abuse that’s coming across from what I call poor practices, bad behaviours that degrade people through to stuff that’s really quite cruel and dehumanising,” said helpline chief executive Gary Fitzgerald yesterday. “We will take the details to the HSE, to the health agencies and to the Government and won’t let go until we get information from them.”
Over 20 nursing homes with similar experiences to Leas Cross have been reported to the helpline.
Concerned relatives alleged complaints were ignored by health boards and the HSE.
Callers were vetted, asked about documents, names and exact dates, said Mr Fitzgerald.
“A very common theme to us has been tying people to chairs, even in one case a person was tied using a dog lead. We had heavy tables put across chairs to stop people getting out of them. We had allegations people are being doped sitting in chairs to keep them quiet so they don’t have to worry about staffing levels.”
Dozens of incidents of force feeding, taking medication and inadequate treatment for pressure sores were also recorded as were concerns about dignity with residents left naked on beds in front of people, said Mr Fitzgerald.
Allegations mainly came from relatives.
“There’s at least one that may well involve serious sexual abuse,” said Mr Fitzgerald.
The HSE confirmed yesterday that nursing director Mary Flanagan will take control of Leas Cross.
Prior to her new position, she acted as nursing director for four years at Claremont Complex, a 150-bed unit at Glasnevin, north Dublin.
The HSE, though, admitted Ms Flanagan has not yet had contact with gardaí over the nursing facility, despite junior Health Minister Sean Power inviting officers to intervene at the home.
Meanwhile, the HSE Southern Area yesterday confirmed that a prosecution is pending against a private nursing home in Kerry.
A HSE spokesperson declined to give details of the prosecution, but it arises from staffing levels at the home.
