Áras Attracta nurses granted injunctions
The HSE is also restrained embarking on any further investigations unless those comply with its trust in care and disciplinary procedures.
The orders are likely to affect 12 other Aras Attracta staff subject to the same investigations. The injunctions apply pending the outcome of the full legal challenge by the five alleging the investigations breach their contractual rights.
The HSE had displayed a “reprehensible” attitude to the efforts of the nurses trade union, the Psychiatric Nurses Association, to resolve internally “serious issues” concerning conduct of the investigations, Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy said.
Among the issues raised was the HSE’s failure to consult the association about the makeup of a four-member investigatory team formally established last March. The nurses had made out a strong case that the right to be consulted was “of real substance” and part of agreed procedures the HSE could not depart from at a “whim”.
The HSE made clear it would not accept any changes to the membership of the investigation team and refused to participate in procedures before the Labour Relations Commission as sought by the association, she noted.
The five — Lyndsey Conway, Carmel Doherty, Mary Prendergast, Vidhya Maverly, and Marie Kilcoyne — are among 17 Aras Attracta staff being investigated arising from complaints concerning matters featured in undercover filming by a reporter with RTÉ Prime Time Investigates in 2014 of events at the facility, which caters for adults with intellectual disabilities.
The five will remain suspended on full pay pending the outcome of the full legal challenge. None are subject to any criminal proceedings.
Ms Justice Murphy noted similar concerns about the nature of the investigations were expressed to the HSE by the other 12 affected staff.
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