More than 250 mentally and physically handicapped patients in a St John of Gods-run home in Co Louth are locked up at night, held in straitjackets and receive inadequate levels of care, according to a sharply critical report.
The report into St Mary's, Drumcar, was submitted last November to the order from English experts, 1066 Consultancy and Healthcare Consultancy, after it became increasingly concerned about staffing levels.
Calling for 100 extra staff, including 30 night nurses immediately, the consultants warned that patients are locked up and left unattended at night, while staff deal wth others, leaving epileptic and other high-risk patients open to danger.
"In the event of a fire, the mortality rate would inevitably be high and the organisation culpable," the report, which has since been submitted to the Department of Health, warned.
The warnings will throw a shadow over the launch of the European Year of People with Disabilities in the Mansion House, Dublin, tomorrow by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. The findings were due to have dominated a meeting last Friday between St John of Gods, the North Eastern Health Board and the Department of Health, but it was postponed until February 5th.
The overuse of restraints such as straitjackets, often "as a matter of routine" could leave the order " in violation of European human rights directives", the consultants warned.
Children were admitted for respite care into "a house that has very unpredictable and violent women". This must be reviewed immediately, the order was told. Short-staffing was blamed for many, but not all, of the faults. Currently, St Mary's has 196 full-time posts, though it is funded for 203. Believing it needs 287 staff, the consultants said the shortages leave patients and staff at risk of "potential harm".
However, "fundamental changes" to St Mary's culture are necessary if extra staff are to make "a meaningful difference" to patients, said the report.
Last night, the head of St Mary's, Father Fintan Brennan-Whitmore, fully accepted the findings: "This is a very difficult place in which to work," he told The Irish Times.
Cutbacks will have to be made unless the Department of Health sanctions extra staff - regardless of the public service recruitment ban, he indicated.
"There is a price tag to be paid as our mentally and physically handicapped population gets older. The nation has to face up to that," he said.
Labour leader Mr Pat Rabbitte said the report threw argument about the Government's health spending "into the sharpest focus", though Mr Kevin Doyle, who speaks for families of people held in St Mary's, said they believed that staff were doing their best.