Families affected by alleged elder abuse and neglect in a Dublin nursing home have said staff “did not show one shred of empathy or concern” for their relatives.
The documentary RTÉ Investigates: Inside Ireland’s Nursing Homes, broadcast this week, alleges multiple instances of mistreatment of residents at Beneavin Manor, in Glasnevin, Dublin 11.
Consultant geriatrician David Robinson said the home was host to “institutional abuse”, including elderly, sometimes frail people allegedly “being left in incontinence pads for so long their clothes were soaked”.
Both Beneavin Manor and The Residence in Portlaoise, which also featured in the programme, are operated by Emeis, the largest provider of private-nursing-home beds in the State.
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Rose Keeley claimed her 92-year-old mother, Mary, who has dementia and mobility issues, suffered neglect at Beneavin Manor. She said her mother was scheduled to spend a week there during a period she was unable to mind her at home.
Ms Keeley said her mother entered the residential home on a Saturday morning in February 2024 and was brought to the Mater hospital the following Tuesday after suffering from dehydration and “not being fed or given her medicine” throughout her stay.
She said she grew concerned when she visited her mother at about 6pm on the Monday and found her “in absolute darkness” in a bedroom. When she asked a member of staff why her mother had been left in that manner, she said she was told “if she wants to fall asleep she can fall asleep”.
The next day, a family friend rang Ms Keeley to tell her that her mother was “in absolute agony” with a back ache. She said two nursing assistants - who “did not show one shred of empathy or concern” - then tried to move her mother, who was left “screaming in pain”.
She arranged for her mother to be transported to the Mater hopspital.
Ms Keeley said he mother spent six weeks at a rehabilitation facility in Clontarf following her stay in Beneavin Manor and “never went home after that”. She is now living in a different residential home.
Fianna Fáil councillor for Ballymun-Finglas Keith Connolly said the RTÉ programme raised “obvious concerns” and highlighted issues that should not be tolerated.
“This is not the first time concerns have been raised about nursing homes on a national scale,” he said, adding that extra resources must be allocated to the sector to address such problems.
After Ms Keeley raised her mother’s experience of Beneavin Manor with Mr Connolly last year, he contacted the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).
He said he was told by a regional manager that “she would be in touch with [Ms Keeley] directly”.
Ms Keeley said she has yet to be contacted by Hiqa about her mother’s treatment.
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Hiqa wrote in a statement after the RTE Investigates programme was broadcast: “Through its inspections of these services, Hiqa identified a number of significant concerns and as part of its escalatory action had stopped admissions to one of the centres.
“Further inspection reports on both of these centres are currently being finalised and will be published shortly. However, we are very concerned about the practices described in the programme and we have engaged directly with those responsible for the operation of the nursing homes.”
It did not comment on Ms Keeley’s case.
Emeis Ireland, which owns and operates Beneavin Manor and 26 similar residential facilities across Ireland, said it apologised “unequivocally to all residents and their families for the suffering and distress experienced as a result of failures identified in the care provided”.
The company said it could not comment on individual cases.
However, in a statement it noted the request from the Minister for Older People for Hiqa to conduct a national review of its nursing home facilities and said it will co-operate fully with all regulatory and statutory bodies.
It said Hiqa and the HSE have visited Beneavin Manor and The Residence Portlaoise, and it has separately initiated on-site audits and “detailed corrective actions”.
It acknowledged that The Residence had continued to process admissions for eight days after being ordered to cease doing so by Hiqa for a period in April and said this was the result of an administrative error.
