Gardaí told of 20 potential cases of nursing home abuse

Alleged assaults happened at same HSE facility where elderly woman was raped

Today at 02:30

More than 20 residents of a HSE-operated community nursing home may have been sexually or physically abused, potentially by the same person.

The alleged assaults occurred at the same HSE-run nursing home where an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s was raped by a healthcare assistant.

An independent review of the rape of the woman completed last November found that 11 other residents had been sexually or physically assaulted by the same man.

But since then, the number of residents who were potentially sexually or physically abused has risen to more than 20. An Garda Síochána has been notified.

The confidential internal health service figures were obtained by Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd last week.

“That 20 vulnerable residents may have been abused in one nursing home over a period of time is shocking,” he said.

“The scale of it is hugely distressing. This suggests there was a serial abuser operating in that nursing home, or maybe more than one.

“The victims in this case were elderly women who were weak and in the last stages of life. Many will have had dementia and were unable to communicate.”

He said that while the perpetrator of the rape has been prosecuted, any inquiries that have taken place to date have yet to be published.

“I am shocked and appalled. This needs investigation at the highest level by the gardaí to find out what happened here,” he added.

The rape of the woman with Alzheimer’s during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 came to light only because of the “cognitive clarity, emotional strength and bravery” of the victim, according to an independent review that was leaked to RTÉ last week.

The report, which gave the woman the pseudonym Emily, found the same perpetrator was also accused of abusing other women in the care centre, but they were not believed, and their allegations were not followed up.

Produced by the National Independent Review Panel (NIRP), the report made nine recommendations, including setting up a working group to reform residential facilities for older people and a campaign to ensure staff take sexual assault allegations seriously.

Gardaí said they received a “number of notifications, all of which were examined and assessed”, including one resulting in a prosecution. There are no ongoing investigations.

​The HSE has declined to confirm how many cases of potential sexual or physical abuse at the nursing home have been referred to gardaí.

“In the course of responding to the serious sexual assault in the facility, the HSE safeguarding staff considered a number of matters. In a number of records, they were satisfied as to the need to make referrals to An Garda Síochána,” a HSE spokesperson said. ​

“In the appropriate spirit of disclosure, the residents referred to or their next of kin were advised of the issue and the likely consideration of it by the gardaí.

“Further planned contact with those families will take place.”

The HSE has unreservedly apologised for and condemned what happened. Chief executive Bernard Gloster said he is appointing a safeguarding expert from another jurisdiction to help the HSE “fully understand all of the issues” in the nursing home.

The HSE said it plans to publish a summary of the NIRP report but is dealing with legal considerations, including a court order that prohibits the identification of the facility and the victim.

A separate safeguarding report will not be published, “other than recommendations or general observations that might be helpful in the public interest.”