Nursing home residents unhappy with emergency move

FIVE RESIDENTS who had fought to stay in their nursing home in Westmeath lost their battle over the holiday break after frozen pipes forced their emergency evacuation.

The remaining residents of Loughloe House in Athlone were removed by ambulance after frozen pipes affected heating at the nursing home. They were transferred to St Vincent’s Care Centre, also in the town.

Loughloe House, which had accommodated 39 residents, was the subject of a critical inspection report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa). The report, compiled following a visit to the home last February, listed 37 improvements required to bring the home up to standard.

St Vincent’s was also the subject of an inspection report which listed 45 improvements required.

On foot of the Loughloe House report, the Health Service Executive (HSE) decided to close down the home, although the report did not recommend closure and most improvements had been made.

The majority of patients were transferred to other nursing homes but some, with support from their families, refused to go. They were given until today to move.

Kay Munnelly, whose mother Mary Durcan (90) was one of the last residents at Loughloe House, said her mother was “distraught and upset” by the emergency move and was not settling.

The other residents, who had been in single rooms, were in wards in St Vincent’s in a “hospital setting” and were missing the freedom they had, she said.

The residents’ families were disappointed and sceptical about the emergency which triggered the the move, Ms Munnelly said.

“We felt it was manufactured; they took advantage of the freezing weather and what was a slight glitch with the heating to move everyone. It was a very smooth operation with five ambulances – too smooth and organised to be an emergency.”

A spokeswoman for the HSE said there was a problem with the pipes at Loughloe House on Christmas Eve due to the weather conditions which had consequences for the heating system.

“In the interests of staff and patient care, the residents had to be moved. It was freezing cold,” she said.