The decision by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to refuse to register a nursing home in Co Meath was overturned in the District Court yesterday.
The owner of the home, Brigid Seepersad, appealed the HSE's decision to Navan District Court where it was stated that the HSE's decision to refuse registration to the Hill View nursing home near Tara on June 7th last was as a result of it not having an appropriately qualified person in charge.
Ms Seepersad, a nurse who had herself worked in a nursing home in London, said she bought the home at the end of January. She did not realise at the time she could not be in charge of the home. The nursing home regulations stipulate that the person in charge must have three years experience caring for the elderly over the past six years and she hadn't realised this.
Judge John Brophy was told as the case was about to begin that the HSE had a number of concerns about the home which it wished the court to hear. It had 10 witnesses. Carmel Stewart, for the HSE, said it would be her contention that standards of care in the home deteriorated since Ms Seepersad bought it.
Conor Dignam, for the home's owner, argued the only reason the HSE gave for refusing registration was that it did not have an appropriately qualified person in charge and for it now to bring up other issues was "an ambush".
He agreed, however, there had been contacts between his client and the HSE on other issues, but these were never seen as issues that would lead to registration being refused.
Judge Brophy agreed. He said other matters such as whether the home, which has 26 beds and 19 patients at present, had towel rails or ramps were not given as grounds for the HSE's decision to refuse registration.
Ms Seepersad gave evidence that when the HSE told her she could not run the home, she advertised for a suitable candidate. Two people working in the home applied for the job but were not acceptable to the HSE.
She found a suitable candidate at the end of May and wrote a letter to this effect to the HSE on June 1st. She gave the candidate's name as Rebecca Carolan, a nurse who qualified in Cardiff in 1995 and who had spent the last six years working with older people in an orthopaedic unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
In her evidence, Ms Carolan said she had been working as a nurse for nearly 10 years and was registered with An Bord Altranais. She had been caring for older people after surgery for the past six years.
Judge Brophy said he was satisfied Ms Carolan was an appropriate person under the nursing home regulations to be in charge of the home and he allowed the appeal. He said registration of the home would be conditional on Ms Carolan remaining on as the person in charge and he ordered that Ms Seepersad, or her husband, should not be involved in the medical care of patients.