THE OWNER of a Kilkenny nursing home who is accused of reckless abandonment of residents and theft of money from clients has broken her silence to say she will co-operate with a Garda investigation.
Miriam Holmes, who ran the Avondale nursing home with her daughter Hayley, left the State the day after the facility was shut down on foot of a court order. She had not been seen since.
However, The Irish Timesreported last week that she and her daughter had been involved in running a 90-bed nursing home in Melbourne, Australia.
On behalf of Ms Holmes yesterday, her solicitor Patrick Moylan said she planned to assist gardaí with their investigation and suggested she may return home if necessary.
“I have spoken to the investigation team and she has offered her assistance. If they need her for interviews, she will deal with that,” Mr Moylan said.
He also said Ms Holmes maintained that any problems with the running of the home were due to issues relating to the solvency of the home.
“She disputes the allegation of reckless abandonment. She says the company, Avondale Nursing Home Ltd, became insolvent and there was a risk that staff would not be paid.
“In foreseeing this, she engaged in discussion with other nursing homes in the area so there would be a managed movement of residents to ensure their care. There was nothing reckless in her actions.”
He also said she would challenge allegations of theft or that she had “recklessly abandoned patients”.
Ms Holmes, he said, had pointed out that she consented to the Health Information and Quality Authority taking over the management of the facility.
Mr Moylan declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding why she left the State at short notice or why employees were left without several weeks back pay. In addition, two employees at Avondale were awarded €38,000 in compensation after an Employment Appeals Tribunal ruled they were constructively dismissed from the facility.
Shortly after Ms Holmes and her daughter left Ireland, she was appointed as facility manager at Plumpton Villa nursing home in Melbourne, which is part of the Craigcare group. Hayley Holmes was appointed as a clinical care co-ordinator.
Craigcare has defended the decision to hire the women. It insists that it used the services of an immigration lawyer to check the employment backgrounds of both women.
They were subsequently dismissed from their posts by Craigcare just over two weeks ago.
The Irish Timesunderstands that the nursing regulator in Australia is seeking to suspend their registration as nurses.
It is doing so on the basis that both women’s registrations with the nursing regulator in Ireland, An Bord Altranais, were suspended in October of last year. In addition, it says it has been notified of various alleged shortcomings in practice notified by the Craigcare group.
The women may contest the move by the regulator. If they fail to do so, it is likely they would have to leave the country within 28 days under Australia’s visa arrangements.
Gardaí are continuing to investigate allegations from several residents that money was stolen from them by the two women. These complaints were made by residents to authority inspectors after the home’s closure.
They could also face prosecution by the Health Information and Quality Authority for multiple breaches of regulations designed to keep vulnerable residents safe.
Under the 2007 Health Act, the authority may bring prosecutions against nursing home owners who breach care regulations. The maximum fine is €70,000 or a two-year prison term.
The authority closed the home last year over serious concerns for the lives and safety of residents. Inspectors have accused the owners of “wilful and reckless abandonment of the nursing home and its residents”.
Latest financial accounts for Avondale list Miriam and Hayley Holmes as the two directors of the company.
