HSE says failures of inspection 'deeply regretted'

OFFICIAL REACTION:THE HEALTH Service Executive accepted the Leas Cross commission's concerns about the "inadequacy" of the inspection process of the former Northern Area Health Board.

On behalf of the former health board it said it deeply regretted “its shortcomings at that time”.

In a statement the HSE said that as a result of the Leas Cross case, action had been taken to “minimise the possibility that these practices could be repeated”. Such actions included a new nursing homes inspectorate.

Residents of Leas Cross were “betrayed” by those responsible for managing the home and regulating standards, advocacy group Age Action said yesterday.

“The arms of the State responsible for protecting these people let them down,” said spokesman Eamon Timmins.

He was also critical for staff in the home and the AE units which treated residents for failing in their “ethical duty” and enabling “suffering to continue unchecked”.

The charity was hopeful that the nursing home inspectorate would reduce the chances of similar cases occurring.

Mr Timmins said “whistle-blowers among home staff and vigilant family and friends visiting homes also have an important role to play”.

The body representing private and voluntary nursing homes said lessons must be learned from the report. Tadhg Daly, chief executive of Nursing Homes Ireland said inspection was one of the underlying issues in maintaining standards.

Mr Daly said if the Government pursued a “race to the bottom” with private nursing homes it would mean that some would be forced to cut costs and resources and quality would suffer. “We must not forget that was one of the underlying causal factors in Leas Cross,” he said.

Consultant geriatrician Des O’Neill, who carried out the initial inquiry into deaths at the home, said that there remained much to be done in light of the report’s conclusions and recommendations. This was despite “significant improvements” in the development of an independent nursing homes inspectorate.

The failure to implement a “minimum data set for every resident of nursing homes” was one “significant disappointment”, he said.

Labour criticised the timing of the report’s publication on the same day as the McCarthy report. Labour health spokeswoman Jan OSullivan TD said the report highlighted a “culture of commodification” in which the quality of service at some private nursing homes was secondary to profit.