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Nursing home residents abused and 'left short of food as staff ate it'

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act detail a number of instances of alleged abuse.

RESIDENTS IN A nursing home suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their carers and were refused showers and left short of food, according to claims in newly released documents.

In a complaint to the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), a resident in a nursing home said that they had suffered “emotional and physical bullying”.

The complainant said that residents at the home were refused water due to the risk of them getting wet; that they were left short of food because the staff ate it; and that the staff were negligent and inattentive.

The claims are contained in documents released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act.

The documents detail complaints received by Hiqa between 3 November 2015 and 5 March 2016. In total, 161 complaints are listed in the documents.

They cover a broad range of issues people have with elderly services, ranging from complaints to do with understaffing and cleanliness, to more serious allegations of abuse, lack of care and violence.

The claims are either partially or fully redacted in almost all cases in order to protect the anonymity of the people coming forward.

Instances of abuse

In one case, a person argues that someone related to them isn’t properly cared for by staff at a nursing home. 

The person states that they have found their relative sitting in wet underwear on several occasions and that “no dignity or respect is shown” to them.

The person alleges that staff “no longer encourages SU to get out of bed” and that the person is “left sitting in wet underwear”.

In another instance, a complainant noticed a bad smell in their relative’s bedroom at a nursing home and discovered soiled bed linen was left in a bag beside the resident’s bed.

Another complaint has to do with a resident “starving to death” while multiple complaints relate to elderly residents becoming dehydrated due to a lack of water.

One heavily redacted complaint alleges sexual assault by members of staff at a nursing home. Who is assaulted or what took place is not clear.

FOI A sample of a heavily redacted complainT Hiqa Hiqa

Another person said that the lack of care from staff at a nursing home had increased the health problems of an elderly perosn who later died. The person said that they had been told by nursing home staff that previuosly the residents was “falling deliberately”.

Staffing

While some of these complaints point to alleged cases of extreme abuse – the most common concerns lodged are to do with nursing homes being understaffed.

In many instances, complainants say that staff are friendly and welcoming, but that they are overstretched and in some cases under-trained.

“CP (concerned person) wants it noted that staff are doing tremendous work but are totally rushed off their feet,” one incident notes.

“Risk of falls increase due to to lack of sufficient staff to supervise communal rooms,” reads another.

In response to the documents, a spokesperson for Hiqa told TheJournal.ie said that it did not have a remit to investigate individual complaints received.

However, it said that all incidents were logged and sent to the appropriate section that deals with the mentioned area. From there, a risk-assessment is carried out and action is taken on whether to investigate depending on the perceived level of risk.

“We welcome all information,” the spokesperson said.

Reaction

Older persons charity Alone said the reports were “concerning”.

Sean Moynihan, CEO of ALONE said:

“It is very distressing to read reports of some of our most vulnerable citizens being neglected and even abused in our nursing homes. These are places that older people should feel safe and secure in the later years of their lives. It is especially worrying to hear of these reports now, considering the recent convictions for abuse of vulnerable people in care homes.

“We must reflect on what this says about us as a society that this is allowed to continue and there is not a national outrage.”

Read: Carer called elderly dying patient a ‘big fat c**t’ and threw water over another

Read: Louth care centre used disabled man’s money to buy cutlery, furnishings and fireplace

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56 Comments
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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    May 15th 2014, 2:19 PM

    Ireland should have some formal way of rewarding and honouring its citizens. The president could present them each year for achievement, charity work etc. in various fields

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    Mute Rawoc
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    May 15th 2014, 2:27 PM

    This is long overdue and would be a worthy scheme to acknowledge the contribution of people in our society who make special contributions but we would need special measures to ensure independence and freedom from overt political influence!

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    Mute Jeremy Usborne
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    May 15th 2014, 3:24 PM

    Isn’t there a ‘Presidents medal’ of some kind?

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    Mute Dylan
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    May 15th 2014, 3:56 PM

    You receive something similar from the president for completing the gold Gaisce award, thats the only similar thing I can think of though what you can do to achieve a Gaisce award is a lot more restricted than an OBE or other awards.

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    Mute Alan Kennedy
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    May 15th 2014, 4:35 PM

    I don’t agree. It would just be abused by politicians for back slaps and laughs.

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    Mute Dylan Drein
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    May 15th 2014, 4:46 PM

    Jesus Christ is that the song that’s going to be played every time some new positive development is suggested, “no we can’t because politicians”? For an island of over 4,500,000 people I think we can do some things without mentioning one of the 166 people sitting in the Dáil. An award recognising the talents and achievements of our own is long overdue at this stage. Would she have been recognised at all in her field if she had stayed and done her research here in Ireland? Probably not, which is a bit embarrassing for us if you ask me.

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    Mute cosmological
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    May 15th 2014, 2:17 PM

    Wonderful – science is paramount.

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    Mute RiobairdOMaingain
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    May 15th 2014, 4:53 PM

    How can awards like that exist when there is no empire? Just seems a bit odd getting an Order of the British Empire when there isn’t one to start with.

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    Mute Niall Keaveney
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    May 15th 2014, 6:21 PM

    I’d love to be awarded an OBE. So I could tell them where to shove it.

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    Mute John Curry
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    May 15th 2014, 2:28 PM

    anyone know what the restrictions are?

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    Mute J. Dunn
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    May 15th 2014, 3:37 PM

    2 for 1 drinks at Parliament bar on Mondays 4:00-5:30.

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    Mute James O'Shea
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    May 15th 2014, 10:39 PM

    Re introduce The Order of Saint Patrick???

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