Retired nurse alleges abuse of elderly in care widespread

A RETIRED nurse claims to have witnessed widespread abuse of the elderly while working in the mental health services in Clare.

Bridie Cox, 61, from Feakle, Co Clare, who is writing a book about her experiences, said she retired early because she could not tolerate what she saw as a lack of will to address ill-treatment of the old.

“People just turned a blind eye,” Ms Cox said.

“The staff weren’t all bad, but they stood by and allowed things to happen.” Ms Cox did her nursing training in Britain, where she also worked, before returning to Ireland in 2000.

“It was like travelling back in time. Mental health services here were so outdated and outmoded it was incredible,” Ms Cox said.

Ms Cox worked in hospitals, hostels and care homes in Clare. Among the instances of alleged abuse she witnessed were:

* A male nurse grabbing an 80-year-old man by the scruff of the neck and running him from the dining room into the living room while kicking him.

* An attendant thumping an old man between the shoulder blades “just to get a reaction”.

* An old lady whose limbs had contracted she had been left in her bed for so long.

* A rehabilitation unit that was so short-staffed, only the most basic of interventions were carried out, with no rehabilitation.

* Shaving male patients with the same razor, using one bowl of water and one towel for all.

* An old lady with severe arthritis in her lower spine left hobbling around in pain after a nurse said she was “putting it on”.

Ms Cox contacted a GP and the woman was transferred to A&E where it was discovered the woman had a double pelvis fracture.

Ms Cox said student nurses had also come to her with concerns including that one old lady in a nursing home had been locked in a cupboard by staff. She said people were regularly deprived of pocket money, or given very little to survive on.

Ms Cox said she tried to have complaints followed up, but investigations were always internal and the outcomes always concluded her complaints were unfounded. “I have since retired, I couldn’t stick it anymore.

“I will still be outspoken on behalf of the elderly and those with mental health issues, but I have been branded a troublemaker for speaking out,” Ms Cox said.