Abbeyleix home gets court reprieve

The HSE has agreed to the quashing of its decision proposing closure of the Abbeyleix Community Nursing Unit to facilitate a three month process of consultation with the elderly residents of the unit about their future care, the High Court was told today.

On that basis, the action by three elderly residents challenging the proposed closure of the 28-bed unit has been settled, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, was told by Peter Finlay SC, for the HSE.

Maureen Delaney (89), Bridget O’Neill (92) and Catherine Kelly (93), who have been cared for at the Co Laois facility for the past number of years, secured leave last month to bring a judicial review challenge to the proposed closure.

The residents claimed they had left behind families and communities to move into the unit some years back and regarded it as their home but the HSE had decided to close the facility for financial reasons and without consultation with them. The HSE previously said the unit was being closed on a phased basis due to reduced financial resources.

Asked by the judge yesterday for details of the settlement, Mr Finlay said the order quashing the proposed closure decision made on November 2nd was being agreed to on the limited grounds that a prior process of consultation should be entered into.

He said the consultation process would run over a 12 week period, would be "meaningful" and involve consideration of all relevant matters, including financial, nursing and the residents' own issues.

The process would involve the HSE engaging with all medical and nursing information concerning each of the residents and taking expert advice as to their situations, he said.

The HSE would also engage with the residents as to their wishes for their future care and their attitude to any move, counsel added.

The dispute in the residents' proceedings related to "only a proposal to consider closing" the Abbeyleix unit and no decision had been taken to that effect, he said.

John Peart SC, for the residents, noted the proposed closure decision of November 2nd was being quashed under the settlement.

Mr Justice Kearns made the order quashing the November 2nd decision and, on consent of the HSE, awarded costs to the residents of the proceedings. He also noted that the Minister for Health, against whom the proceedings were also taken, was to be let out of the case.

The settlement comes after the court heard last week that the recent removal of three beds from the unit caused such concern to some residents they were afraid to leave their beds. The HSE insisted nothing would happen to the residents until their proceedings were decided and that it was acutely aware of their interests.