asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that allegations were made at a meeting of the Mayo County Council on 30th October, 1954, in regard to the conduct of certain members of the staff of the sanatorium at Belleek Manor, Ballina, and, if so, if he will make a statement in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mayo County Council Allegations.
I have seen the report referred to. There is no record in my Department of any complaints against the staff in regard to this matter and I am satisfied that such complaints would have been made if there was any ground for them. The institution has been inspected regularly by officers of my Department and they would be aware of any well-founded cause for complaint. It should be remembered that to nurses residing in an institution, the institution is their home for the time being and that they are entitled to entertain their friends there from time to time in the same reasonable way as they would if they were living at home. They work hard for the benefit of their patients and require at least the same degree of relaxation and recreation as any other section of the community.
If any member of a local authority has charges to prefer against the staff of an institution in respect of which I have responsibility, I would suggest that he has the duty to submit the charges to the officers of the council or to me in the first instance for investigation, and I deplore, as contrary to justice and charity, the making of uninvestigated charges at public meetings of local authorities against officers of the local authority who are not present and who have no opportunity of defending themselves.
I may add that the nurses concerned have appealed to me for protection against such unjustifiable charges and that I have told them that there is nothing I can do in the matter and that they must continue to rely on the sense of fair play of the members of the authority which employs them and that, happily, such sense of fair play is rarely absent.