Personal stories highlight concerns around care of elderly

Liz Farsaci looks at cases of complaints that have come before the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland in the past year, in which inadequate care and financial abuse of elderly people by nurses were two prominent emerging themes

WHEN examining the complaints made against nurses, which have come to public inquiry over the past year, two themes immediately emerged: a lack of care afforded to elderly people living in residential care settings, and financial abuse of elderly people.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland is the regulatory body for all nurses and midwives in the country. Part of its remit is to handle complaints made against all nurses and midwives and so, theoretically, anyone within the sector could come before the attention of the inquiry.