Ombudsman asks HSE to apologise to former nurse

THE Ombudsman has requested the Health Service Executive to apologise to a retired East Clare nurse over its failure to properly investigate her reports of alleged abuse of patients in the Clare Mental Health Service in 2003 and 2004.

A complaint made to the Ombudsman by Ms Cox that her complaints of alleged abuse were not properly investigated under the HSE’s Trust in Care policy has been upheld. She has now called for an independent investigation into the alleged abuse and neglect of a number of patients in the service.
In a letter to a HSE manager in September 2006, Ms Cox, who is now living in Corofin, asserted that the incidents had been witnessed by other staff as well as by clients of the service.
In the absence of any evidence to support the complaints and allegations, three HSE executive members, who were appointed under its Trust in Care policy, concluded her allegations didn’t warrant further investigation.
However, Ms Cox now believes that a new investigation would result in a different outcome, as she claimed staff had closed ranks and were afraid to speak out when her initial complaint was made.
Her call for the reopening of the investigation is not supported by the Ombudsman who concluded after careful consideration that because of the length of time since the incidents reported by her and the impact this could have on establishing what happened in a fair manner, it is not appropriate for the office to ask the HSE to reopen its investigation.
Ms Cox joined the Clare Mental Health Service in 2002 and continued working up to August 2008.
In an official letter obtained by The Clare Champion, one of the Ombudsman’s investigators stated the HSE’s lack of familiarity with the policy should not have prevented progression from the preliminary screening stage to a formal investigation.
A HSE spokesman said, however, that it is unaware of the letter and as such is not in a position to comment on its content. However, the spokesman stressed her allegations were taken seriously and investigated.
The Ombudsman’s letter noted: “That the HSE did not follow its own guidelines in bringing the investigation to the formal investigation stage can’t be regarded as sound administrative practice”.
It recorded the fact that “the HSE admits it did not follow the Trust in Care policy under which it committed to investigate her complaints”.
“The HSE has offered various reasons for this: it was their first experience of using this policy, they were not familiar with all its detail, the complaint was complex involving allegations against a number of different staff and was not a perfect fit for policy guidelines.”
Ms Cox expressed concern that two HSE separate investigations failed to highlight the body’s failure to follow its own Trust in Care policy and that this wasn’t discovered until an independent body reviewed her complaint.
“Even though psychiatric patients have mental health difficulties, these patients should still be taken seriously. I pursued the matter because I wanted to establish the truth and restore my character and good name,” she stated.
“Now that new structures are in place, I believe a new investigation would be in the best interests of patients in the Clare Mental Health Service. I want to ensure that people who are the most vulnerable in society are receiving the best possible care. People with mental health difficulties are voiceless because they are afraid to speak out about bad practice,” she added.
Meanwhile, Clare Mental Health Services has appointed a full-time elder abuse officer, who has a defined role in assisting staff detecting and responding to abusive interactions.
The old structure of director of nursing, executive clinical director and area manager has been disbanded and management is now integrated into mainstream HSE management, which the authority believes has helped to ensure adherence to all policies.
In addition to standardising its multiple investigation processes to ensure there is one process, staff are trained in. The HSE has raised the fact that the Trust in Care policy wasn’t adhered to in this case with the HSE Employers’ Agency.
A HSE spokesman said that apart from Ms Cox, 12 members of staff along with all the surviving clients, who were allegedly abused, were interviewed. “None of the clients or any member of staff interviewed provided any supporting testimony for the allegations made by Ms Cox. Likewise, no supporting evidence for the allegations could be found in the clinical notes and records,” the spokesperson said.