GARDAI confirmed yesterday that they will investigate the shocking allegations of abuse aired during RTE’s expose of privately-run nursing homes — and it’s about time.
The documentary was filmed at two nursing homes run by the for-profit company, Emeis Ireland.
While just two nursing homes featured in the documentary, it once again raises questions about the entire nursing home industry and how it is run and monitored in Ireland.
Undercover footage found a litany of repeated care failings, including chronic staff shortages, vulnerable residents left unsupervised, the inappropriate handling of frail older people and a lack of basic supplies such as towels, bedsheets, gloves and sanitary wipes.
Incontinent residents were left to sit in their own urine for long periods, too.
And for that standard of care, their families paid a pretty penny. The outrage has been universal. How could it not be?
But much of the commentary from politicians and health bodies in the aftermath rings particularly hollow.
This isn’t the first time privately-run, for-profit nursing homes have been exposed in Ireland.
The politicians and those in charge of our health services were equally aghast 20 years ago when RTE exposed massive failings at Leas Cross nursing home in Swords, Co Dublin.
In the wake of that scandal, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) was set up, charged with ensuring proper care standards in the nursing home sector.
Have they been doing their job since? Well, if they had been on the case, they would have found out what RTE did using just two undercover care assistants. But Hiqa didn’t.
They inspected Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin in May and November 2024 and found it to be “substantially compliant”.
FAMILY’S FURY
Hiqa reported residents being very happy, finding the care home was well managed, and that the quality and safety of the services provided were of a good standard.
They must have been wearing blindfolds when they visited.
The family of Audeon Guy, an 80-year-old resident of Beneavin Manor, went public after footage showed Mr Guy being guided along a corridor at pace to his bedroom by two carers to change his incontinence pad.
One steers his walking frame while the other holds the waist of his trousers.
Confused, Audeon lashes out before being forced into his room, where his trousers are pulled down and he is pushed into an armchair.
Audeon’s son Paul told RTE: “No one should be handled like our father was. These are human beings who lost their dignity and no one should have to go through that.”
FAILURES CAUSED SUFFERING
Bottom line, Hiqa’s failures caused residents to suffer. If they’d been on top of their game, they’d have uncovered the truth and the reality.
But somehow, the wool was pulled over their eyes.
In the wake of Leas Cross 20 years ago, the state promised the abuse of elderly residents in nursing homes would never happen again.
Apart from establishing Hiqa, the state then largely washed its hands of the nursing homes sector, abandoning publicly run nursing homes to the private sector.
Today, 80 per cent of nursing home beds are provided by for-profit, privately-owned companies.
REAL RISK
When profit is the first motivation in any care system, there is a real risk that the needs of residents come a distant second.
RTE’s programme proves the point. Yes, it only featured two nursing homes, but who’s to say the same level of appalling care doesn’t exist in some other privately-run institutions?
Would you trust a Hiqa report now? The family of Audeon Guy certainly can’t.
They read 17 Hiqa reports on nursing homes before deciding to send their dad to Beneavin Manor.
‘IT SEEMED TO BE FINE’
Son Paul told RTE: “For Beneavin Manor, we read the reports, and it seemed to be a very safe place to go.
“We looked at the brochures, and I went and did the tour. It seemed to be fine.”
Like a lot of things in the country, appearances can be (and are) deceiving.
Hiqa’s report into Beneavin Manor wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.
The Guy family are now looking at another nursing home for their dad.
NO TRUST
But the task of finding one they are happy with is now much more difficult because trust in the regulatory system (Hiqa) has evaporated.
Paul went on: “Who do we trust? I want to be assured that the Hiqa reports actually substantiate what they’re saying, but at the moment I don’t believe them, so who do I trust?
“Where’s the best place for our dad to go?”
The government will squirm in their seats for a while. Action plans will be promised.
“Learnings” will be pledged. Reviews conducted.
And as time goes by, all will be forgotten again and it’ll be swept under the carpet, unresolved.
And we’ll be back in ten years with more revelations of abuse of our old people. It’s the way Ireland works.
HOUSE IT ALLOWED?
WE’RE in the midst of an extraordinary housing crisis and derelict buildings continue to plague our towns and cities.
It’s a national scandal that vacant, rotten buildings are allowed to REMAIN vacant and rotting.
But when those in government can barely tie their own shoelaces, it’s not surprising.
Especially when you consider that among the greatest culprits for vacancy are arms of the state.
CIE has owned several vacant buildings in Dublin since the 1980s. The Department of Education has owned four derelict properties in Dublin 1 since 2013.
And the HSE owns four vacant buildings on James Street.
Then there’s the Land Development Agency – tasked with increasing the supply of homes by making more effective use of State and other lands – which has owned three vacant buildings at Thomas Court in the capital since 2021.
Oh, and they plan to demolish them. Just what we need.
As I’ve argued and will continue to argue till I’m red in the face, the entire system’s rotten.
RULE RUFF ON DOGS
THE Ayatollah has issued a fatwa on PET DOGS.
Yes, you read that right. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, believes hounds are impure and wants authorities to crack down on anyone walking their pooch in public.
His logic: A dog’s saliva or hair would render anything it touched – like a person, clothing or a surface – impure.
And his fatwa concluded: “Prayer is invalid with the presence of dog hair.”
Even so, pet ownership is high in Iran.
Animal surgeon Dr Damoon Ansari said: “Pets, including dogs, have become integral to Iranian culture, even in religious households. Whether officials approve or not, they can’t eliminate the millions of pets in Iran.”
You’d think Iran’s government would have more pressing issues, but obviously not!
DIVE INTO THE PROBLEM
FROM the outside looking in, everything in Irish swimming is going, well, swimmingly.
Daniel Wiffen took home two medals at the Olympics in Paris – one a gold – while Sligo’s Mona McSharry nabbed a bronze.
On top of that, Danielle Hill and Ellen Walshe made the finals of their respective strokes.
However, on closer inspection, all is not well in the Irish swimming community.
None of our medal winners is actually coached on these shores, while Hill and Walsh are also trained outside the High Performance.
Earlier this month, Jon Rudd ended eight years with Swim Ireland as the National Performance Director to take up a role for the Saudi Arabia Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Days later, a BBC Panorama documentary detailed a litany of allegations against Rudd from his time as a swimming coach in the UK.
‘TOXIC’ CULTURE
Ruta Meilutyteė – who won gold for the UK at the London 2012 Olympics – said Rudd left her “broken” by his “toxic” regime.
She is among 12 former swimmers to speak out against the alleged culture at Plymouth Leander, where Rudd coached from 1989 to 2017.
The programme, which aired last month, was a difficult watch.
In a statement, Swim Ireland said there was “no suggestion or indication of welfare issues” during Rudd’s eight-year tenure.
Meanwhile, the governing body is also embroiled in a bizarre row with a voluntary swim group, Leinster Open Sea, over the running of sea races in and around Dublin.
RACE ROW
The clash saw two separate Liffey Swims arranged in 2024, laughably devaluing the historic and iconic race.
And Swim Ireland were criticised last year for spending hundreds of thousands of euros on three “pop-up pools”, two of which sat in storage.
So, is swimming here in rude health because of Swim Ireland, or in spite of them?
Swim Ireland faces questions over how they run Irish swimming.
They should be called before the Dail’s Sports Committee to answer them.
DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA
THE battle for America’s soul is underway. Violent protests erupted after President Trump’s ICE agents carried out a series of immigration raids on Los Angeles.
Demos have continued every day since, despite Trump sending in thousands of National Guard troops and 700 marines.
The deployment of Federal forces, right, against the wishes of California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, has only served to harden the resolve of protesters.
Indeed, protests have spread to other US cities, including San Francisco, Chicago and New York.
Trump has doubled down, vowing to continue the deeply unpopular immigration sweeps across the US.
Governor Newsom has described Trump’s actions as an assault on democracy.
He’s leading the charge against MAGA and may well be the Democratic challenger to become the next President as a result.
TOP TIPS OF THE WEEK
VEGETARIANS coming to dinner? Simply serve them a nice bit of steak or veal.
Since they’re always going on about how tofu, Quorn, meat substitute etc tastes exactly like the real thing, they won’t know any difference.
Gamblers, convince fellow punters that you have some inside knowledge by simply cheering every race winner and then counting a wad of cash in your pocket.
SORRY to anyone expecting to read the column over the past two weeks.
I’d fecked off to Italy with the intention of sending a dispatch, but decided to switch off entirely. You need that every now and again.
