A new investigation into standards of care at the Leas Cross nursing home in north Dublin has found supervision of it by the former Northern Area Health Board and the Health Service Executive was seriously lacking.
The commission of investigation report into the home, published yesterday, found that even when the health board had "a serious complaint on hand" in relation to the home, it reregistered it in 2004 before actually investigating the complaint.
Serious staffing deficits at the home, which was forced to close in 2005, was one its main problems, the investigation found. The health board had allowed it to expand without ensuring it had sufficient staff. The commission found the number of nurses (12) employed by the home was the same in 1998, when there were six residents, as it was in 2005 when there were 96 residents.
The investigation carried out by Diarmuid O'Donovan SC also reveals that the owner of the home, John Aherne, has had to pay back €1.2 million in capital allowances to the State. This was because he had availed of a tax incentive scheme introduced in 1998 for the construction or refurbishment of nursing homes. Under it the full investment could be written off over a seven-year period, but the home closed before the seven years were up.
The home has since been sold and is under new management.
Furthermore the report reveals that Leas Cross received a total of €7.27 million between 1999 and 2005 in respect of subventions and payment for contract beds. These payments were made by the former Eastern Health Board and the former Northern, South Western and East Coast Area health boards.
Relatives of former residents of Leas Cross condemned the report's failure to name several individuals whom they believed were responsible for providing inadequate care.
While the report does name a number of matrons who worked in Leas Cross, its owner and a senior health board official, Mr O'Donovan said this was because there was "a real risk that the mention of an individual's name in connection with Leas Cross – however innocent his or her involvement – may give rise to a negative perception of that individual which may taint his or her personal and professional reputation".
Families were also highly critical of the way the commission's report was released on the same day as the McCarthy report.