A north Dublin nursing home where a man with Down's Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease was transferred shortly before he died was clearly not capable of caring for him, a report commissioned by the Health Service Executive (HSE) has said.
The report into the death of Peter McKenna (60) said Leas Cross nursing home in north Dublin was not in a position to fully care for him.
Mr McKenna was transferred from St Michael's House in Ballymun to the Leas Cross nursing home in Swords where he later died of blood poisoning in October 2000.
He had been cared for by St Michael's House for 23 years and was moved against his family's wishes because St Michael's said it could no longer care for his needs.
Aidan Browne, national director of primary community and continuing care with the HSE, said it was clear from the report that there were still issues remaining for the family of Mr McKenna.
"This is hugely regrettable, considering the time elapsed since Peter's death, considering the family's patience in awaiting the final report, and due to the amount of work done in the preparation of the final report," Mr Browne said.
The independent report into the death was given to the McKenna family last week and they held an hour-long meeting with the Minister for Health Mary Harney yesterday.
Mr Browne said the HSE and St Michael's House had an outstanding responsibility to
Aidan Browne, national director of primary community and continuing care, HSE
answer the family's questions if they were not fully answered in the report.
The report found St Michael's House, in addition to its previous experience of Leas Cross, had relied on the fact of the nursing homes registration with the health board to assess it.
Mr Hynes found Leas Cross, which has since shut down, had overestimated their ability to offer the kind of nursing care Mr McKenna required.
Mr Browne said: "The final report found that given Peter's particular requirements, his placement in a first floor room, and his inability to properly use the nurse call button did not exhibit a full acknowledgement by Leas Cross of Peter's needs or level of dependency."
Mr McKenna's half brother, Dan Moore has claimed St Michael's house was still in denial over its responsibility in the affair.
St Michael's House said last week that it had acted at all times in the best interests of Mr McKenna and that the decision to transfer him to Leas Cross was made in good faith. It initiated the transfer after having cared for Mr McKenna for 23 years because it could no longer look after him.
PA