We will repeat Áras Attracta and Emeis scandals until we ensure care is people-centred

Fintan Sheerin says both scandals exposed by RTÉ a decade apart stemmed from an underlying failure to ground caregiving in human relationships

Undercover footage screened in the 2014 exposé 'Inside Bungalow 3' showed residents being slapped, kicked, verbally abused and force-fed. Picture: RTÉ

The recent RTÉ Investigates programme Inside Ireland’s Nursing Homes lifted the lid on practices that have rightly been termed ‘neglect’ and ‘abuse’ by experts and family members.

Images of older people being left for long periods in pain and discomfort, denied toilet facilities, and pleading for assistance which never came have shocked many people who did not know what was happening behind closed doors. They do, however, closely mirror similar images from an earlier programme, Inside Bungalow 3 — Áras Attracta, also produced by RTÉ Investigates in 2014.