Nursing home ‘replacing’ public patients
Owner Philomena Dolan last week wrote to relatives of public residents at St Margaret’s Nursing Home telling them of the decision to move out public patients. Some of the residents have Alzheimer’s disease.
Relatives were told it’s to foot a bill for decorating work and improvementsdemanded by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
After inspections in November, the 26-bed facility was suspended from further taking public patients. But many families only learnt this at the weekend.
Ms Dolan has decided to move out up to 10 public patients. Relatives of the patients say the owner intends limiting contract beds to pay for the improvements.
Sinead Burns’s mother, Rita, from Dublin, has Alzheimer’s disease and has spent four years at St Margaret’s Nursing Home. Her family visits her daily but are distraught at news theirelderly mother must leave.
“It’s very distressing. We don’t know where she’s going to end up,” said Sinead.
Her family were “shocked” after receiving a “curt” letter from the owner on Friday.
“She told me why she’s doing it — because the health board are making her put improvements in place that she can’t afford. And she can’t afford it on what she’s being paid by the health board patients on contract beds. I think she wants to put private patients in place for public patients for more money to do the improvements. I think the owner has a lot to answer for — she’s putting these people out,” said Ms Burns.
Outraged families met a HSE representative at the home yesterday with concerns they knew nothing about it failing inspections three months ago.
Rita’s daughter added: “When your parent is being cared for in a facility, you should know if it’s up to standard or not and what is being done about it.”
North Dublin is experiencing a shortage of nursing home beds. Sutton Nursing Home, also owned by Ms Dolan, will close in March.
Private residents pay hefty premiums with average weekly rates at €871 in the area, a recent survey found.
Families believe that private patients from Sutton Nursing Home’s 34-bed unit are being moved to St Margaret’s.
“Some of the patients last week were being told they have to move on as people are coming from Sutton home,” said Colm Mooney, whose mother Theresa, 79, has spent three years in St Margaret’s Nursing Home.
Valerie Weldon, whose mother Christine, 75, has Alzheimer’s disease, said families were yesterdayinformed of a “few deficiencies” at the home.
Owner Philomena Dolan could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
The Irish Nursing Homes Organisation’s Tadhg Daly said many owners faced shortfalls in incomes as the HSE “haggled” over public bed costs by “shopping around” for cheap beds.
