MINISTERIAL RESPONSE:MINISTER FOR Health Mary Harney said she could not guarantee that a Leas Cross scandal would not happen again, but new regulations meant that it would be detected quicker.
A new inspection process and standards which came into force on July 1st would create “a robust and comprehensive and independent regime” for the inspection of nursing homes, she said.
“I can’t guarantee that it will never happen again but what I can guarantee is that it will be picked up very quickly.”
The new inspection regime established by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) was independent, involved unannounced inspections and follow-up inspections to ensure compliance, she said.
Ms Harney said her thoughts were with the families of Leas Cross residents who were the subject of the inquiry. She ordered the establishment of the inquiry after meeting relatives of Leas Cross residents.
“I hope that they will find in the publication of this report that they can bring some closure to the dreadful experience of their loved ones and I want to express my deepest sympathies to them,” she said.
She described the report as “balanced, comprehensive and insightful” and said that anyone who cared for older people in nursing homes or elsewhere should read it and learn from it. “And certainly the report will continue to inform developments and changes in this area.”
She said it clearly highlighted “huge deficiencies” in the nursing home’s inspection system, which was the responsibility of the Northern Area Health Board, and latterly the HSE.
Ms Harney said the report was also critical of the fact that “no alarm bells rang” at Beaumont hospital, despite the recurring pattern of Leas Cross residents being admitted with problems that could suggest poor care.
“There now is a protocol in place in Beaumont hospital and I have already asked the HSE to ensure that there’s a protocol in place in relation to every acute hospital,” she said.
Asked about the reason for not naming HSE or health board officials in the report, Ms Harney said she understood the desire to “name names” but the decision was a matter for the sole member of the commission of investigation, Diarmuid O’Donovan SC.
In the report, he said the commission balanced the public interest against the rights of individuals when deciding on requests for anonymity.
Ms Harney also rejected criticism that the report was launched on the same day as the An Bord Snip Nua report in a bid to bury bad news.
“If there’s any conspiracy here, it’s that [the] Bord Snip report comes today. That was not a decision of mine, nor was I aware of it.” She said she received the Leas Cross report around June 12th and had to get legal advice on one issue. As soon as the report had been approved by the Cabinet, it was sent to the relatives a day before its general publication.
“I assure you, I was not aware, nor could I be aware, that the report of Colm McCarthy was to be published today.”
The Minister with responsibility for older people, Áine Brady, said the main focus of the new Hiqa inspection regime was on people in the nursing homes, not on the buildings.
Asked about the lack of similar standards and inspections for people with disabilities in residential care, Ms Harney said the Minister with responsibility for children, Barry Andrews would soon be presenting a response to Cabinet on this issue.
Ms Harney said she could not guarantee that Hiqa’s funding for nursing home inspections would never be cut, but she pointed out that fees paid by nursing homes covered the cost of inspections.
