Nursing home carer accused of being drunk

A former nursing home director of care is facing charges of being drunk while in work and secretly dumping drugs instead of giving them to vulnerable, elderly residents.

The allegations were heard against Mary Elizabeth Mealy, who has 18 years of experience in Ireland and England and is now working in the HSE’s elderly care service, during the first day of a fitness-to-practise hearing by An Bord Altranais.

During the opening exchanges of the hearing, officials were told the alleged incidents occurred at the private Longford nursing home Thomond Lodge in July and August 2012.