‘RTÉ Investigates' finds conditions likened to ‘institutional abuse' at nursing homes run by Ireland's largest provider

Irish Independent

2 days ago

The 'deeply distressing' footage in RTÉ Investigates – Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes, which airs tonight on RTÉ One at 9.35pm, details a litany of failings in two homes run by Emeis Ireland, formerly Orpea.
The French-owned company has 27 privately-run facilities here, providing more than 2,400 beds. It has a global revenue of more than €5.6bn.
After concerns were raised by several whistleblowers, RTÉ sent two undercover researchers to apply for healthcare assistant roles. They obtained footage from The Residence Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin, Dublin.
Among the breaches detailed were inadequate staffing levels, which at times left one employee looking after 23 residents, and people being refused help to go to the toilet.
One resident was left on the toilet for an extended period of time with a broken call bell, after the worker went off on her break. When she was eventually tended to, the nurse was seen cleaning her hands afterwards on the resident's skirt.
In another incident, an elderly man in a wheelchair pleaded to go to the ­toilet, only to have his request refused. He was not taken to the bathroom until 25 minutes after his first request.
Reacting to the footage, consultant geriatrician David Robinson said it was 'neglect… in a setting that is supposed to be caring'.
Staff in the Portlaoise facility were secretly filmed discussing how they had run out of incontinence pads and would not get any for another 10 days. They were told they would instead have to use 'sticky pads and underwear'.
In one scene captured on camera, a nurse says 'using incorrect incontinence wear is a form of abuse' and they are 'actually causing bed sores'.
The next day, he was found lying on a soaking wet bed without any sheets
At Beneavin Manor, which houses many people living with dementia, one vulnerable resident was seen being left in her wheelchair for up to six hours.
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When she was eventually moved, the obligatory hoist was not used. The care worker insisted that she and the undercover reporter pull the frail woman up by her clothing because 'they are not glass'.
When another man requested to use the toilet, he was told to use his incontinent pad instead. The same man was later found sitting in the dayroom in urine-soaked clothing.
That night, he called repeatedly for someone to help him go to the toilet, but he was again told to use his pad. The next day, he was found lying on a soaking wet bed without any sheets.
Later that night, there were no bed sheets left and staff instead used incontinence pads as a makeshift covering.
Professor Rónán Collins, a consultant geriatrician, said the care of this man was 'really quite distressing'.
'I can't say any more about how much it goes against the grain of every kind of gerontological principle I would hold dear,' he said.
No complaints have been made yet to gardaí, but several complaints have been raised with the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).
In a statement to RTÉ, Emeis Ireland said it was 'unacceptable' for residents to have to wait for care or be dismissed when requesting assistance.
It also apologised to residents and their families for the distress caused by the failings identified.