Fears over repayment of nursing home fees to mentally ill patients

THE repayment of illegal nursing home fees to residents in mental health services could result in significant dangers for patients and staff, the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association of Ireland (PNA) warned yesterday.

Des Kavanagh of the PNA said that staff were extremely nervous of the refunding of thousands of euro to former patients without any preparations.

“Thousands of former patients now reside in community residences under the care and supervision of mental health and intellectual disability services,” the general secretary said at the PNA annual conference in Tralee. “They were subject to illegal charges.”