Owners deny all claims of HIQA report on home

THE owners of the nursing home at the centre of a national outcry over serious elderly abuse allegations have denied all claims made by independent health watchdogs.

Speaking on RTÉ radio after initially refusing to respond publicly to the damning Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) inspection findings, Sarah Lipsett refuted the conclusions.

Ms Lipsett is a director of Kitelm Limited along with her sister Avila and, as such, is directly responsible for care standards at Rostrevor House Nursing Home in Rathgar, Co Dublin.

However, Ms Lipsett, who is a solicitor, denied HIQA’s conclusions that vulnerable elderly residents at the 23-bed facility were physically and verbally abused.

In a lengthy interview she said the findings are “absolutely unfounded” and “very inconsiderate of HIQA” as residents were not asked for their views.

She said claims of physical abuse and an alleged cover-up of assaults by a staff worker named as “care assistant P” were made by workers who this individual said have “a personal vendetta”.

Ms Lipsett said the allegations in relation to this same care assistant regularly bringing a vulnerable elderly woman to the bathroom alone — at which point other staff heard screams from the resident — were the result of the elderly woman’s condition.

“She has dementia and she screams all the time. Her doctor has been in with her and says there is no sign of abuse whatsoever,” Ms Lipsett said.

She said care assistant P was suspended on foot of the allegations but is welcome to return if desired.

She also claimed there has never been any concern over this individual — a comment contradicted by one resident’s family who said when their elderly relative could still speak three years ago she asked them not to allow this worker to have any involvement with her.

Contradicting the independent HIQA conclusions, Ms Lipsett said the work visas of a number of staff are “not tied” to the nursing home.

The HIQA findings said staff were “clearly frightened” they would lose their jobs if concerns were raised.

She said the findings of an “alarmingly high” number injuries sustained due to slips and falls — 24 in 18 months among seven residents — were in line with normal levels.

Formal figures for Ireland have only recently begun to be collated. However, the American Medical Association suggests a nursing home with 100 residents will report between 100 and 200 cases maximum a year.

For a facility the size of the 23-resident Rostrevor House Nursing Home, this scale should result in approximately 25-50 of these injuries for all residents.

Out of the sample taken by HIQA, the rate should be approximately seven to 14 cases a year, or 10-20 in 18 months.

While slips and falls can be the result of a sensible approach to use of restraints on residents, HIQA said Rostrevor’s slips and falls rate was “alarmingly high”.

Ms Lipsett was asked about the continued involvement of her mother, Therese Lipsett, in running the nursing home despite being struck off by An Bord Altranais.

She said Mrs Lipsett was “close friends” with many residents and had offered to step down but was not ordered to do so.

When HIQA conclusions highlighting a “serious risk to the life or health of residents due to negligence” were raised, Ms Lipsett said the organisation has “in no way accused [care assistant P] of these allegations”.

A spokesperson for HIQA said the independent health watchdog will not be responding to the denials as a court hearing on the matter yesterday has already repeated its support of the organisation’s conclusions.