Harney publishes new guidelines on nursing-home standards

Minister for Health Mary Harney has published proposed new guidelines on nursing-home standards.

The new regulations were drawn up in the wake of the Leas Cross scandal and are designed to ensure that all residents in public and private nursing homes are treated with dignity.

A three-month period of consultation now begins in which the guidelines can be assessed and amended if necessary.

Announcing the regulations today, Ms Harney reiterated that new legislation currently before the Dáil would also protect so-called whistle-blowers who report mistreatment and poor standards.

"In addition to protecting individuals that blow the whistle, we also want to make sure that complaints are responded to and acted upon, whether they are complaints from people working internally in the service or whether they're complaints from families," she added.