A review of all nursing homes operated by Emeis Ireland has been requested by the Department of Health.
Kieran O’Donnell, Minister of State at the department with responsibility for older people, has asked the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) to start a review of all nursing homes operated by the group in the wake of Wednesday’s RTÉ Investigates programme.
Emeis Ireland runs 27 residential homes across the State, two of which were the subject of the broadcast. It detailed alleged elder abuse and neglect, scenes described by Hiqa as “wholly unacceptable and shocking”.
Hiqa said its chief inspector “is taking escalated regulatory action in the nursing homes identified” and “will take any necessary additional actions with the provider to ensure safe and effective care and support to all residents”.
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It ordered that admissions to The Residence in Portlaoise, which featured in the programme, be ceased after a report released in February found it was non-compliant with 10 regulations when inspected. The order came into effect in April.
The Residence featured alongside Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin, north Dublin, in the programme, which featured scenes of older people allegedly being manhandled, “forced” down into chairs, being left in incontinence pads for so long their clothes were soaked, and being ignored when they pleaded for help to go to the toilet.
Emeis, the French nursing home group formerly known as Orpea, entered the Irish market in 2020 through the takeover of the TLC Nursing Home portfolio and followed up with further deals. Emeis Ireland is the largest provider of private nursing home beds in the State.
Hiqa’s February inspection found staff at The Residence were not appropriately trained to deliver effective and safe care and were not appropriately supervised, which was noted as a repeat noncompliance.
While most centres can expect one or two inspections each year, Hiqa said it carries out more inspections at centres where there are concerns or repeated noncompliance. The Residence had three inspections last year and one in February.
Beneavin Manor was also among the 36 nursing homes to receive three or more inspections in response to persistent noncompliance.
Other enforcement steps available to Hiqa include cancelling the registration of a centre. However, it noted that such actions can cause “significant upset and distress” to residents and their families.
Following 840 inspections in total last year, the authority either refused to renew registration or cancelled the registration of 10 nursing homes.
Mr O’Donnell said he met Hiqa officials on Wednesday because of the “urgency” of the situation exposed in the “extremely distressing” RTÉ programme.
He asked them to report back on their “intensive engagement with the two nursing homes” over the next week and for an overview of the Emeis group in terms of the regulation and enforcement process at its nursing homes.
He said he wanted to see inspections happening more frequently and faster responses to protected disclosures.
Liam Doran, former general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, said he felt shame, anger and frustration at the scenes in the programme.
“And then I think sadness, just sadness at looking at people who have served this country, have worked for this country and have shown fortitude, much more than the modern generation and that’s how we treat them. Shame, shame on all of us.”
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke told RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Show that an institution should not be operating “if people are not being cared for appropriately, with dignity, with respect” in it.
“Hiqa need to really enforce that and to ensure that everyone has a basic level of dignity and care that they deserve in their twilight years.”
Patricia Rickard-Clarke, chair of Safeguarding Ireland, said she was “very disturbed and very distressed and very, very angry” about the content of the RTÉ programme.
She repeated the group’s call for the Government to establish a working group to implement the recommendations of a Law Reform Commission report from last year which set out policy changes needed to implement safeguarding legislation.
“We’re 20 years after Leas Cross. We have gone backwards, I think,” she said, referring to the 2005 closure of the Dublin nursing home after revelations about the mistreatment of patients.l
She said that Hiqa has questions to answer, but “one of the limitations it has is that it doesn’t have the function of taking individual complaints or concerns”.
“It looks at systemic issues, and it goes in on an irregular basis, and also there was a delay in responding to a particular request (by a whistleblower).”
Shane Scanlan, chief executive of The Alliance, a trade association for the Irish nursing home sector, said he was “utterly shocked and appalled” by the RTÉ exposé.
“As a nurse myself and the director of nursing for over 10 years, you just really feel for the residents and families that have been affected by this,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
“I’d be calling for an immediate, independent, root and branch review of how Hiqa carries out their inspections and their methodology.”
Seán Moynihan, of older’s peoples’ group Alone, said Ireland was “walking into the privatisation of nursing homes” where economics seemed to be more important than the actual rights of the older person and the healthcare of older people.
Emeis reported a €70.2 million net loss in 2023, according to its latest annual financial statement, filed with the Companies Registration Office in December. That brought its accumulated losses over three years to more than €223 million.
It attributed most of these to the writing down of goodwill associated with peak-of-market acquisitions.
Still, the company remained profitable at earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) level throughout the period.
Its French parent required a bailout in 2023, led by a state-owned investment firm, in the wake of a scandal over residents’ mistreatment in its home market.
