Beaumont Hospital apologises to man's family for his undignified treatment

Beaumont Hospital in Dublin has apologised to the family of an elderly man for failing to protect his dignity.

Gerry Feeney, who was 81 and suffered from Parkinsons disease, was admitted to Beaumont Hospital from his nursing home in December last year. He was assessed and discharged only to be re-admitted again later in the month.

A picture of him emerged at the hospital sparking outrage - he was in a dishevelled state and his incontinence pad was open, leaving him exposed.

His family said everyone could see his state and that he begged to be taken away from the hospitals' geriatric ward.

“He was actually left sitting out in public... The pictures don’t depict the sheer horror of what happened… He had no dignity," his niece Ann Marie Feeney told Morning Ireland last February.

His family said he had stayed in the hospital's A and E ward for a number of days up to his transfer to the geriatric ward, and they had no complaints about his care in A and E.

He died three weeks after his release from hospital.

An independent report commissioned by the hospital following complaints by Mr Feeney's family has found there was a failure to implement discharge and staffing level policies.

It also said there was poor communication and confusion about Mr Feeney's care.

Beaumont CEO Liam Duffy apologised to the family and will meet them next month.

The Feeney family has welcomed the report's findings and are seeking a meeting with Health Minister Leo Varadkar.