Kildare nursing home where sex assault took place in 2020 criticised in new report

An inspection of a Co Kildare nursing home where a staff member sexually assaulted an elderly resident three years ago found there was a lack of assurance that residents were safe as a result of action taken by its management and staff in response to allegations of abuse.

A report on the TLC Centre on Straffan Road, Maynooth, Co Kildare by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found that two allegations of abuse were not recognised or appropriately reported and investigated by the nursing home.

Hiqa said it had required the centre to take immediate action after it found that safeguarding measures put in place by the provider following the allegations “did not provide sufficient assurances that all reasonable precautions had been taken to prevent reoccurrence”.

In addition, Hiqa said not all staff in the nursing home were knowledgeable about what actions they should take in relation to any allegation, suspicion or concern of abuse at the facility.

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In June, a former healthcare assistant of the TLC Centre, Michael Tuohy, was convicted at Naas Circuit Criminal Court of engaging in a sexual act with a woman resident of the nursing home who suffered from dementia on a date unknown between September and November 2020.

The court heard evidence that Tuohy, a 51-year-old married father of two from Beaufield Avenue, Maynooth, Co Kildare, had digitally penetrated his victim, who was unable to speak, while changing her incontinence pad.

He was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

A daughter of the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said: “We believed and trusted she would be safe. But we took our eyes off the ball during lockdown and we’re left with the pain of a poor choice.”

Judge Nolan agreed that the name of the nursing home could be published at the request of the victim’s family.

The Hiqa report noted that its office of the chief inspector had not received the appropriate notifications about two notifiable incidents which had occurred in the TLC Centre.

Overall, the report found the nursing home was in breach of 15 out of 17 care regulations during an unannounced inspection over three days in February this year.

It found the governance and management systems in place did not ensure that high-dependent residents living in the centre were provided with a good standard of care.

Hiqa revealed it had also issued a request for an urgent compliance plan from the centre following the first day of the inspection because of “significant immediate risks” across a range of issues including staff training, nutrition, protection, fire safety and infection control.

The watchdog body said aspects of the response from the nursing home “did not provide sufficient assurance”.

Although some residents enjoyed a good quality of life and their rights were respected, Hiqa said it was not the case for other residents including some with high-dependency needs.

The TLC Centre is registered to accommodate up to 125 residents, with 117 in residence on the date of the inspection.

However, Hiqa inspectors said the number and skill mix of staff were not sufficient to meet the needs of the residents.

The registered operator of the centre is a company called Veritdale, which is part of the scandal-hit French care homes group Orpea, which is Ireland’s largest provider of nursing home beds with over 1,960 places.

Shares in the French group slumped by 93 per cent last year after a book highlighted potential malpractice at its care homes, which resulted in raids on several centres by French police.

An independent audit also found evidence of financial wrongdoing.

[ Shares in troubled nursing home group Orpea jump on update ]

In response to the Hiqa report, Veritdale said all staff had been reminded of the need to immediately escalate incidents of concern to a senior staff member.

The company said a series of safeguarding workshops was also being provided to all staff about the escalation and management of safeguarding concerns.

Among a range of other responses to the Hiqa report, the TLC Centre said it had introduced a new system for cleaning equipment, while its dining service had been reviewed and “a consistent high standard” was now in place.