A report which was sharply critical of how a health board handled a complaint of assault against a psychiatric nurse has led to the introduction of new complaints procedures.
The nurse was exonerated by the investigating committee, which concluded that, given the available information, there was "insufficient evidence to substantiate the original complaint made by Ms Anne Ryan [the patient's sister] at this remove".
Ms Ryan alleged that her brother, Paul, a patient at St Canice's Hospital, Kilkenny, had been struck by the nurse when he went to empty a catheter bag.
While clearing the nurse, the independent committee found numerous deficiencies in the manner in which the complaint was handled by the South-Eastern Health Board, which runs the hospital. These included:
The original internal investigation dealt with an entirely different incident from that complained of by Ms Ryan. That was an occasion on which the nurse had acted to prevent Mr Ryan from sustaining an injury.
Commonly-understood mechanisms for recording and processing complaints were not applied.
There were "significant inconsistencies and omissions" in interviews and statements recorded in the course of the internal investigation.
Staff witnesses failed to mention that Mr Ryan had sought, and was given, the anti-inflammatory medication, Brufen, for "pain" on the night in question. "This appears a surprising omission from all of the statements relating to the incident given the level of detail outlined in those statements", it said.
It took three months for the SEHB to give the nurse details of the complaint. The committee notes that, despite this, he co-operated fully with the committee.
The nurse rejected Ms Ryan's allegations and told the committee that he had shown Mr Ryan how to empty the catheter bag.
The committee said there were reasonable grounds for believing that the nurse, whom it exonerated, had an "encounter" with Mr Ryan in relation to emptying his catheter bag and "was in the vicinity of Mr Ryan when Mr Ryan stumbled".
Mr Ryan, who had suffered from depression for many years, took his life before the establishment of the independent committee.
The committee was made up of Mr Conal Devine, management consultant; Dr Katherine Brown, consultant psychiatrist, St Fintan's Hospital, Portlaoise; and Mr Pat Smith, former chief nursing officer, Midland Health Board.
Its report was shown to The Irish Times by Ms Ryan recently after the SEHB indicated that it would not engage in further correspondence following a decis ion by the Ombudsman that the case could be regarded as closed.
Detailed complaints procedures were introduced by the health board early last year. These, the board says, are in every ward and facility in its mental health service and are posted in public areas for the benefit of patients and their families.
The dispute over theatre cover at St Colmcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, is to go to the Labour Court. Nurses affiliated to the INO say they are expected to be on call for excessive amounts of time. In the meantime, patients are being sent to other hospitals if they need surgery during times when theatre nurses are not available.
hospitalwatch@irish-times.ie Hospital Watch & Checkup on the Web: www.ireland.com/special/ hospital