Home economics: We are worried Fair Deal may turn out to be a bad deal for us, as Mum's condition has worsened
Our expert answers your property finance questions
Today at 21:30
Question
My mother has been in hospital for several months while waiting on a nursing home bed, which will shortly become available. We applied for and got Fair Deal, so are not anticipating any issues with the transfer.
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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Home economics: We are worried Fair Deal may turn out to be a bad deal for us, as Mum's condition has worsened
Our expert answers your property finance questions Today at 21:30 Question My mother has been in hospital for several months while waiting on a nursing home bed, which will shortly become available. We applied for and got Fair Deal, so are not anticipating any issues with the transfer.
The Journal
5 days ago
- The Journal
RTÉ to air undercover programme showing poor care of people in nursing homes owned by chain
A NEW RTÉ Investigates programme to air tonight goes undercover in a large nursing home chain with locations in Dublin and Laois to expose poor treatment and practice. The programme sees two undercover researchers take up posts in two different nursing homes owned by the company Emeis, formerly known as Orpea, which has come under scrutiny previously for the treatment of residents in its homes in France – leading to legal actions being brought against it which remain underway. It entered the Irish market in 2022 and now operates 27 homes across the country, providing more than 2,700 nursing home beds, many of which are paid for through the HSE's Fair Deal scheme. RTÉ researchers, who were fully qualified as Healthcare assistants, went undercover in two homes operated by the company: the residence Portlaoise, which houses up to 101 residents, and Beneavin Manor, a home in Glasnevin, which cares for up to 115 adults. It costs €1200 a week for someone to stay in the Portlaoise home, and €1400 for them to stay in Beneavin. While the company claims to provide a high standard of care, RTÉ's programme, which The Journal has previewed, shows understaffing leading to older people being in pain while waiting to go to the toilet, multiple residents suffering falls after being left on their own, staff moving people inappropriately when they should be using a hoist, and in one case, a man who asked to be taken to the toilet being told directly by a staff member to pee in his incontinence pad. In another case involving a man with dementia the secret cameras installed by RTÉ shows him being 'roughly handled'. People living in the homes were dressed in inappropriate incontinence wear, left unchanged for hours at a time, and being discovered in wet clothing after they had wet themselves. Emeis told RTÉ investigates that it is not their policy to understaff their homes. In the Portlaoise residence, the programme shows residents being kept in a 'holding area' so the short-staffed team can better supervise them. In Beneavin residents were told they could not go out for a walk because 'nobody' could take them, and one anonymised employee showcases to the RTÉ researcher how to falsify activities reports for the residents, to make it appear as though the residents have been able to enjoy hobbies, when they have not. Distressing footage from two different rooms shows residents crying out for help at night because they need the toilet. In one incident, an elderly, frail woman is seen sitting up on the edge of her bed calling out 'Sister! Sister! Mother!' while she waits for help. In the Beneavin home a man asks to go to the toilet, and has the following interaction with a member of staff: Nurse: [Name], what are you doing? Are you going to wet Advertisement your sheet? We don't have enough sheets, okay? Resident: I know, listen. Nurse: We don't have enough sheets, okay? Resident: I know, listen, listen. Nurse: Yeah, go on. Resident: I have to go to the number one. Nurse: Number one, yeah? Nurse: That's fine, you can. I don't have anyone to help you; so you can wear your pad and we'll change it, okay? You can pee on… can you put your trousers up, yeah? Nurse: You can pee on that, okay? I will then change it, okay? Later, we see staff wake him up loudly around 6am to change his pad. Without washing him, the staff proceed to dress him in his day clothes and leave him in them for the rest of the day; even though he is going back to sleep. Professor David Robinson, a Consult Geriatrician who appears on the programme, said that its findings show 'systemic and institutional lack of consideration for the older person'. Staff members at Emeis-operated nursing homes made protected disclosures to the Health Information and Equality Authority (HIQA), but it took 17 weeks for follow-up inspections to be carried out, the programme reports. In response to the findings in the investigation, Emeis Ireland told RTÉ that the evidence it presented of poor care delivery, improper moving and handling of residents' rights are 'deeply distressing'. The company said it has launched an in-depth review following the programme's findings. 'Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes' airs tonight at 9.35 pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- RTÉ News
Serious care concerns found at leading private nursing home group
Two leading doctors in gerontological care have described as shocking and disturbing undercover footage to be revealed in an RTÉ documentary tonight. It examines standards of care in several residential facilities owned by Ireland's leading provider of private nursing homes. The company at the centre of the allegations, Emeis Ireland – previously known as Orpea – has apologised to residents and their families for the distress caused by the failings identified in the RTÉ report, saying it has launched an in-depth review to immediately address all issues identified. The investigation which focuses on two nursing homes – The Residence Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin in north Dublin – uncovered multiple examples of care failings and neglect of vulnerable older residents. "This is going to shorten people's lives and the lives that they have will be more miserable because of the situation that they're in," said Consultant Geriatrician Prof David Robinson. "It's abuse – there's no other word for it." Following detailed concerns raised by several whistleblowers, RTÉ Investigates had two undercover researchers simultaneously apply for and secure healthcare assistant roles at the Emeis homes. They both had all the required qualifications and were Garda vetted by RTÉ. At The Residence Portlaoise, where up to 101 residents can be accommodated at a weekly cost of approximately €1,200 per week under the Fair Deal scheme, RTÉ did witness some staff provide good care but more often saw repeated instances of staff shortages impacting daily resident care. The Fair Deal scheme is a state support system that helps cover the cost of nursing home care in Ireland, based on a person's income and assets. This included large groups of residents being congregated together in day rooms, vulnerable older people being left unsupervised resulting in resident falls and day-to-day requests going unattended to for lengthy periods of time such as pleas to be put to bed or use the toilet. "What we're looking at is largely institutional abuse and this is neglect in a setting which is supposed to be caring," Prof Robinson added. RTÉ's undercover carer also witnessed multiple examples of poor manual handling with older residents frequently lifted under the arms and without the required use of proper handling equipment contrary to best practice. On some occasions staff were hampered by a lack of available equipment, while in one instance management also instructed healthcare assistants not to use hoisting equipment in public areas for fear their poor technique would be seen by visitors. "The shocking disappointing thing to me is that someone who clearly has an identified need in order to assist his transfers and mobility is not provided with the means by which that can occur," Consultant Geriatrician Rónán Collins told RTÉ Investigates. "This patient needs this piece of equipment to be able to stand up safely and the equipment is not in his room – it should be in his room." In Dublin's Beneavin Manor, which can provide care for up to 115 adults for approximately €1,400 per week with Fair Deal funding, another RTÉ researcher saw similar patterns of staff under pressure. Here, despite regulations stating nursing homes must provide opportunities for residents to engage in activities, this rarely happened on the floor where RTÉ's carer worked. Staff also faced constant challenges when it came to the supply of essential resources with recurring shortages of basic items such as towels, bedsheets, sanitary wipes and gloves. "It's pretty shocking to be honest with you," Prof Collins said. "Really one would have to ask in terms of supply chains why staff don't have access to the equipment to do their job appropriately?" "In healthcare what causes burnout is people who go to work and come home day after day feeling frustrated because they're unable to provide the level of care they knew they should be providing or wanted to provide," Prof Collins added. At Beneavin Manor, RTÉ also witnessed the inappropriate handling of vulnerable residents with frail older people sometimes moved by their clothing instead of using the correct handling equipment mandated in their care plans. "There's no regard for the person," Prof David Robinson said on seeing RTÉ's footage. "It's prioritising expediency and expediency of care over the person's dignity and it's just not appropriate," Prof Robinson added. Having witnessed repeated poor practices, RTÉ Investigates had both researchers hand in their notice and report all their concerns to management at the nursing homes and to the regulatory body, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). HIQA told RTÉ both The Residence Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor have set out compliance plans to address issues at their homes with reports from recent inspections of both centres currently being finalised. In a statement, Emeis Ireland said the evidence of poor care delivery, improper moving and handling of residents, and a lack of dignity and breaches of residents' rights are deeply distressing, adding that it does not tolerate any individual or systemic neglect or practices. Offering its sincere apologies, the company said this is not the standard of care they expect and not what residents and their families deserve. Emeis added it is fully committed to doing everything in its power to ensure the failings do not recur. This will include, according to the statement, a thorough examination of the management and oversight of medical supplies, housekeeping products and continence supplies across all its nursing homes. It is also to review staffing allocations at both The Residence Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor.
