Nursing home ‘failed to follow procedure’

AN ELDERLY woman who is presumed dead after disappearing from a nursing home might have been recovered if staff had followed proper procedures in caring for her, a judge has said.

Widow Maura Reynolds, 78, who suffered from cancer and Alzheimer’s, went missing from the Tara Care Centre on Putland Road, Bray, Co Wicklow, on Christmas night in 2005, after spending the day with family. Despite extensive searches, no trace of her was ever found.

At Bray District Court yesterday, the owners of the nursing home, Paul and Anne Costello were fined €2,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Nursing Homes (Care and Welfare) Regulations 1993 — under which they are obliged to provide “suitable and sufficient care to maintain a patient’s welfare and well- being”.