The owner of Rostrevor nursing home in Dublin was fined €8,000 yesterday after pleading guilty to 10 breaches in regulations relating to the care and welfare of residents.
The Health Service Executive (South Western Area) unsuccessfully sought to close down the home in the High Court last year when it said 23 older people were at risk because of improper administration of drugs and staff shortages.
Recent inspections show the home is in compliance with nursing home regulations and a HSE spokesman said yesterday it had decided to "defer" its attempts to de-register the home.
The owner, Therese Lipsett, had faced 25 charges of failing to comply with nursing home regulations when the case was heard before Dublin District Court earlier this year.
Following legal submissions yesterday, the majority of the charges were dismissed or withdrawn.
Counsel for Ms Lipsett argued that some of these charges should be dismissed because of the HSE's failure to produce documents, or extracts of documents, in court supporting its allegations.
She pleaded guilty, however, to charges relating to the failure to maintain records of patients, keep medicines in a safe place and aspects of nursing care relating to the treatment of wounds.
Some of these charges related to the treatment of a 101-year-old resident, who was found sleeping in a chair, and an elderly man whose bed sores were not adequately treated.
Counsel for Ms Lipsett, Breffni Gordon, said difficulties at the nursing home arose following recruitment difficulties.
He said these matters had been resolved and the home was now fully compliant with nursing home regulations.
Some residents were also in receipt of State subvention, which is administered by the local health authority.
In her ruling, Judge Ann Ryan imposed fines of €850 each for eight of the 10 charges, and lesser fines of €500 in relation to the treatment of the two residents.
She said she was mindful that the elderly man's family had written a letter expressing support for the standard of nursing care he received at the home, while the charge relating to the woman was for spending one night in a chair.
Ms Ryan said the home may have taken on too many residents at the time, but that now the home "may well be one of the better nursing homes to be in".
In a statement to The Irish Times yesterday, Ms Lipsett said she was most happy with the outcome of the case, but accepted there were "technical breaches" relating to staffing problems.
"The court, however, clearly found and noted that there was no wilful neglect of anyone in Rostrevor.
"I would never allow that to happen. I feel my innocence has been established in a court of law."
Responding to the ruling, Age Action Ireland said: "The case highlights the immediate importance of setting up statutory inspectors for nursing homes, public and private, and the vital need to reform legal procedures when nursing homes need to be closed down because of deficient care."
In a statement yesterday, the HSE said it had not recently "placed" any patients in the nursing home in question, but did provide for a subvention payment for some residents.
HSE attempts to close the home down in August last year were unsuccessful after the High Court ruled it did not have authority to shut down a registered nursing home.
