I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I also thank him for the concern and interest he expressed when this matter was raised in the Dáil. We succeeded in carrying out an inquiry into the operation of this nursing home. Its conclusions showed there was overcrowding, unqualified nursing staff on duty, an insurance deficiency and no fire certificate in the nursing home. It is now clear from the report that the Southern Health Board, in executing and operating under the terms of the Act, was also inadequate in this instance.
It is extraordinary that a nursing home which was registered in September 1994 should have an inspection carried out in May and September 1995 and that few of the complaints outlined in May 1995 were resolved. Indeed, further complaints were added to the list in September 1995 without any indication that action would be taken by that health board in implementing the Act.
The Minister will agree that an extremely vulnerable group is involved in this case. What is the consequence of the lack of incontinence pads and drugs being dispensed by unqualified staff for the patients and how do they suffer? That aspect has not been covered in this report. However, given these problems one can only conclude that there was a lack of patient care. Under the Act both the Southern Health Board and the nursing home are charged to ensure that this does not happen.
I would like the Minister's reply to concentrate on the investigation carried out by the inquiry team vis-à-vis that which was done by the internal inspection in May and September 1995. One bears no relationship to the other. The inquiry investigation was foolproof, in-depth and produced results. This begs the question of whether there are more Woburn nursing homes in this country and the lessons we can learn from this inquiry.
When one considers that £120,000 of public money was paid to this nursing home from its time of registration to the time of the inquiry, serious questions must be asked about whether that money was well spent. When the inquiry team examined the accounts, it could not get a complete set of payroll figures. While a C2 certificate is required in every other public contract, it does not seem to operate as far as nursing homes are concerned.
Is it not also extraordinary that 12 GPs certified in writing that they saw nothing wrong with the patient care operating in that nursing home? Surely a question must be asked about those GPs relative to the letters of commendation they gave to the inquiry. There is a dilemma in the sense that under the Act officials of the board register nursing homes and carry out inquiries with the result that the line has become blurred. There is no complaints procedure. When Councillor Con O'Leary raised this issue initially he could not avail of Dáil privilege. He faced a major difficulty in deciding whether to go public on the issue. The time has come for the Minister to consider providing for a complaints procedure in the Health (Nursing Homes) Act. There is a charter of rights for patients in general hospitals and the Minister should provide for such a charter in legislation for the residents of nursing homes. It is important that this should happen.
In relation to the conclusions of the report the Minister should consider establishing an independent inspectorate to ensure there is not a repeat in any nursing home throughout the country.
