Fallout from Áras Attracta ‘volatile’

‘Volatile’ fallout from Áras Attracta revelations


Inclusion Ireland meeting to be held in Swinford deferred

Áine Ryan

A PUBLIC meeting due to be held in Swinford on Thursday next has been deferred because of the highly ‘volatile’ fallout from last week’s shocking revelations of abuse in Áras Attracta’s  Bungalow Three, unveiled by RTÉ Prime Time Investigation’s Unit.
However, the HSE’s Director General, Mr Tony O’Brien is due to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children this evening (Tuesday) where he will be questioned about the controversy.  
As the county and country still reels from the exposé showing the abuse of vulnerable women with severe intellectual disabilities, Inclusion Ireland confirmed yesterday that the meeting has been deferred to late January. It was to be chaired by Swinford native and NUI Galway’s Professor of Law, Donncha O’Connell.
The abuse showed incidents of slapping, kicking, force-feeding and one resident being sat upon by a clinical nurse manager.   
The meeting will now most likely be held in Dublin or at a midlands destination to facilitate the numbers that may wish to attend and, moreover, to deflect from the emotionally-charged climate in Swinford. Organised by Inclusion Ireland in conjunction with Down Syndrome Ireland, it aims to ‘offer people support and information and to explore the next steps that are required’.

Deferred
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday Paddy Connolly, Inclusion Ireland’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Ourselves and Down Syndrome Ireland were coordinating the meeting in Swinford but the short time span and logistics proved difficult. We are not on the ground in Mayo and our sense is that things are very volatile still, so we have decided to defer it until the New Year, probably late January.”
He said he felt it would have been ‘good’ to hold the meeting in Swinford but, with the short-time lead-in and other issues arising from the revelations, it was better to defer it.
“We are holding the meeting in response to a lot of calls we have received from around the country from concerned families and people. The big question for people is where do they go with complaints or concerns or get information about how they record this formally. There are also a lot of concerns about the general quality of services in these centres and a lack of meaningful activities for the service-users,” Mr Connolly said.
He continued: “That is why we have called for the appointment of a Confidential Recipient. Another problem is that there has not been sufficient investment in such HSE reports as the Congregated Settings and New Directions.”
Mr Connolly was referring to a report published by the HSE in 2011, “A Time to Move on from Congregated Settings: A Strategy for Community Inclusion” and another in 2012, entitled, “New Directions.”
Commenting ahead of today’s Oireachtas Committee meeting, Deputy Jerry Buttimer said: “As a Committee, we were shocked at appalling evidence of alleged abuse of residents at Áras Attracta uncovered by RTÉ Prime Time … The HSE has already issued an apology and promised an investigation under an independent chairman. We will explore what steps can be taken to restore public confidence in care home services.
“Given that there are about 900 homes providing similar services nationwide, the Committee will be seeking re-assurances from the HSE that its systems can prevent any issues of poor treatment in congregated settings.  The Committee has agreed to carry out a focussed review of Treatment in Congregated Settings in the New Year, and this is just the first step in the Committee’s work.”

Garda investigation
MEANWHILE, An Garda SíochΡna has set up a special incident room in Claremorris where they are trawling through hundreds of hours of video footage recorded over a three-week period in Bungalow Three by the RTÉ undercover reporter. The Mayo News understands that the investigation may take some time and extra resources have been placed at the disposal of the investigating team.  
The eleven staff who have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation include a clinical nurse manager, four staff nurses, four care-assistants and two agency care-assistants. However, some newspapers have reported that two further staff members have also been suspended in recent days.
However, the HSE West failed to respond to Mayo News questions sent yesterday asking if this was the case and had it now employed personnel to replace the staff on paid suspension in light of the RTÉ revelations.

‘Betrayal’
WHATEVER about the nation’s shock at this culture of abuse, relatives of the three women featured in the programme – Ivy McGinty (53), Mary Garvin (65) and Mary Maloney (75) –  have spoken out about their sense of ‘betrayal’,  ‘horror’ and how they felt ‘traumatised’ at the scenes broadcast to the nation on Wednesday last.
At the weekend, McGinty’s sister, Breege Dolan expressed her family’s shock to The Irish Mail on Sunday: “We thought they could be trusted but I look at that footage and my God! That is a different story. An innocent child, that’s all she is. How could anyone do it?”
Ms Dolan said all those with ‘supervisory responsibility’ as well as the staff identified in the footage should be replaced.
“The whole management from top down in Áras Attracta should be replaced. They should have been out on the floor and they should have known what was going on,” Breege Dolans said.
However,  a more conciliatory tone is expressed in a statement by the siblings of 65 year-old Mary Garvin. Her sisters, Sheila Ryan and Kathleen Healy and brothers John Paul and Patrick Garvin, said ‘[everyone] is innocent until proven guilty and we want all the people on suspension to be afforded the time and the space to tell their story and explain their actions’.
They said: “We want to thank sincerely the many carers, nurses and other professionals who are today and have been in the past working quietly, caringly and professionally in Áras Attracta. They deserve our support, encouragement, appreciation and thanks.
“We want them to know that they are doing a good job in a very challenging profession. Under no circumstances, do we want mob rule. We abhor violence in every shape and form,” they continued.  

HIQA report
EARLIER this year HIQA carried out unannounced inspections at the Swinford facility after the Coroner for South Mayo, John O’Dwyer expressed concerns about the circumstances leading to the death of longterm resident, Francis Loughney (72), who died at Mayo General Hospital in November 2012. The investigations centred on why he did not see a doctor during his final five days of life in Áras Attracta, despite having a very high temperature and being given prescribed antibiotics.
Its report (from visits during February) found that residents, some of whom were underweight despite being prescribed high-calorie diets, were left without food for up to 15 hours at night. The investigation was instigated after a whistleblower provided key information following the death of Mr Loughney.
As news broke on Monday, December 1, that the Gardaí, the HSE and HIQA, had implemented a new investigation into allegations of abuse, detailed in a letter from RTÉ’s Investigations Unit, it has been confirmed tha staff were put on leave, as a ‘protective measure’.