Over 230 allegations of abuse made against two nursing homes with staff reported to gardaí
Some staff in the nursing homes featured in a damning TV exposé have been reported to gardai,
An image from RTÉ Investigates - Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes.
The allegations were made against Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin in Dublin.
There were 40 notifications of allegations of abuse at the Residence in Portlaoise which featured in the same programme.
Some staff in the nursing homes featured in a damning TV exposé have been reported to gardai, according to the report.
Emeis, the owners of the two nursing homes featured showing litany of repeated care failings in two nursing homes, have also been told at a face-to-face meeting the facilities will be closed unless they ensure residents will no longer be treated in an 'inhumane' manner.
The revelations are contained in a report from the regulator, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) which inspects nursing homes.
The report to the Minister for Older People, Kieran O'Donnell, comes on foot of the RTÉ Investigates undercover revelations about the nursing homes.They were found to have a litany of failings in undercover footage 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.
Hiqa said the notifications of allegations of abuse "does not necessarily indicate a non-compliant service, and often means a strong culture of recognising and submitting incidents which fall into the required notification categories".
'They can include a wide range of incidents such as residents' altercations with other residents, the tone that someone is spoken to, through to more significant suspicions or allegations."
Hiqa and Mr O' Donnell will appear before the Oireachtas health committee Wednesday to be questioned on the oversight of nursing homes.
In its report to the minister since the airing of the programme, Hiqa said: 'Senior Emeis Ireland officers, who are also directors of each company operating the two nursing homes, were required to attend a formal warning meeting with the Chief Inspector on June 9 to set out the actions they were taking to ensure the residents in both The Residence Portlaoise and Firstcare Beneavin Manor were safe and were receiving the care that they should.
'Both providers were issued with an official warning of cancellation of registration should they fail to implement significant improvements in the care of residents.
'They were also required to set out how they would be addressing the ineffective systems of oversight, management and supervision, and the staff culture issues in each nursing home which enabled staff members to treat their residents in such an inhumane manner.'
They were also required to set out how they would be addressing the ineffective systems of oversight, management and supervision, and the staff culture issues in each nursing home which enabled staff members to treat their residents in such an inhumane manner.
Hiqa said the owners gave commitments regarding the care of residents in both homes including that they are currently complying with the condition preventing admissions to The Residence Portlaoise and will continue to comply. They are aware that they cannot admit residents there until the condition is removed.
They have voluntarily ceased the admission of any new residents to Firstcare Beneavin Manor until they were assured that the issues were addressed. Management and staffing levels have been increased in both centres with immediate effect.
Senior staff from other nursing homes have been deployed to improve the effectiveness of staff supervision in both centres.
External, independent consultants have been retained to undertake a root cause analysis of what occurred in both centres, to inform further ongoing actions to be taken by the provider.
Staff disciplinary action had been initiated and where appropriate, referrals had been made to An Garda Síochána.
Hiqa came under criticism for the favourable report it made on the Glasnevin facility following an inspection in November.
'Hiqa is appalled by the way that residents were treated, and such treatment goes against the core values of Hiqa and its staff.'
An image from RTÉ Investigates - Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes.
News in 90 Seconds - June 17
Hiqa said: 'It is not possible for inspectors to be in a centre all of the time, and generally, staff that behave in the manner presented on the RTÉ Investigates programme will not behave like that when an inspector is present. Where inspectors have identified poor care and support, this has been detailed in inspection reports and subsequent regulatory action taken. HIQA publishes all nursing home inspection reports on its website to ensure transparency for the public.'
It has carried out a series of inspections of the homes since the programme.
'As expected, in the aftermath of the programme, inspectors found that the provider had taken a range of measures to address the immediate risk to residents. Over the three days of inspection of both Firstcare Beneavin Manor and The Residence Portlaoise, inspectors found that issues such as supplies and linen had been addressed. While actions had been taken to improve staffing, further improvements to staffing and staff supervision were required.', said the report.
A wider review of homes owned by Emeis is underway.
The minister he and Department officials, met with Hiqa on June 4 to discuss regulatory activity relating to the nursing homes featured in the RTÉ Investigates programme.
At this meeting the Minister was advised that Hiqa and the Office of the Chief Inspector would continue their intensive engagement with both The Residence Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor, Glasnevin and requested an update on progress by the end of last week.
He also asked Hiqa to provide a comprehensive overview of the nursing home operators which are owned by Emeis Ireland. The Chief Inspector has committed to delivering a full report by the end of this week, providing an overview of regulatory history, including but not limited to regulatory compliance, escalating enforcement actions and any additional conditions.
Emeis has apologised to residents and their families for the distress caused by the failings identified saying it has launched an in-depth review to immediately address all issues .
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