A senior clinician will claim at an Employment Appeals Tribunal tomorrow that he was "bullied and intimidated" after drawing attention to the treatment of a resident who died in controversial circumstances after being admitted to Leas Cross nursing home, in Swords, Co Dublin.
Dr Mark Harrold, a senior clinical psychologist at St Michael's House in Dublin, a disability service-provider, says he raised concerns with his employers and board that it was unsuitable to transfer a 60-year-old disabled resident, Peter McKenna, to Leas Cross.
A spokeswoman for St Michael's House said the allegations would be "robustly" contested when the case is heard tomorrow. She declined to comment further.
Mr McKenna, who had Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's, died in painful circumstances two weeks after being admitted to the home. Medical records show blood poisoning was the main cause of death.
Dr Harrold, who worked at St Michael's House for 13 years, resigned in March last year.
The death of Mr McKenna has been the subject of an independent investigation by Martin Hynes, former chief executive of the Irish Blood Transfusion Board, commissioned by the Health Service Executive (HSE), which is due to be published shortly.
In a recent statement, St Michael's House claimed the report contained many inaccuracies. It said an earlier version of a report by Mr Hynes vindicated its decision to transfer Mr McKenna to Leas Cross nursing home.
"Mr Hynes’s [latest] report is completely at odds with his first report and contains many inaccuracies. St Michael’s House is currently preparing a response to this report which will robustly defend the position of the organisation and is therefore not in a position to comment further on its contents," according to the St Michael’s House statement.
It added that St Michael’sHouse acted at all times with the "utmost professional and moral integrity", and the decision to transfer Mr McKenna to Leas Cross was authorised by the High Court. This was because Mr McKenna was a ward of court at the time. St Michael’s House said it was unable to continue to care for Mr McKenna due to his deteriorating health and need for 24-hour nursing care.
Dr Harrold raised concerns about the transfer and treatment of Mr McKenna with the management and board of St Michael’s House on a number of occasions following his death.
In June 2003 Dr Harrold wrote to the minister for health, Micheál Martin, outlining his concerns, which eventually led to a series of investigations which resulted in the latest report by Mr Hynes.
These issues are likely to be discussed in detail at the Employment Appeals Tribunal hearing. The family of Mr McKenna have criticised the delays in publication of the Hynes report.
In a letter to the HSE, Mr McKenna’s relative, Dan Moore, said: "You might keep in mind that it was Peter’s family that requested this report and is waiting nearly four years for it, but this, it seems, did not come into your consideration."
