SEVEN NURSES from a care home in Northern Ireland have been suspended after a healthcare watchdog body found the home in breach of a number of regulations.
The Orchard Manor nursing home in Antrim was issued a notice by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority for not meeting the nursing home regulations on July 7th.
Seven patients at the care home were admitted to hospital over a five-week period, it was also disclosed yesterday. Two of them died.
The nursing home was given until August 8th to meet the requirements set by the body.
A spokesman for the Southern Cross Healthcare, the group that owns the care home, said the nurses were suspended because "their level of expertise was not at the level required for a nursing home". He said they were currently undergoing training and that early next month their ability would be reassessed.
Seven patients from the care home were admitted to Antrim Hospital in the last five weeks for a range of medical conditions.
The Northern Health Trust, which runs the hospital, said some were dehydrated and two had died from natural causes.
Southern Cross Healthcare said this was not unusual considering the five-week time period and the age of the patients.
The group owns 23 old people's homes across Northern Ireland. It opened Orchard Manor 16 years ago. More than 20 elderly people are currently registered there.
A number of people with relatives staying at the home complained to the BBC and UTV yesterday evening about the level of care. Yolanda Brownlee told the BBC that on one occasion she had to clean faeces in her mother's room. She decided to leave some that was under the bed. Four weeks later it still had not been cleaned.
She eventually complained to the manager, who expressing outrage and arranged to have it cleared. Ms Brownlee, who removed her mother from the home, said it should not have taken "four weeks to be sorted".