Commissioner's investigation into Dunmurry Manor Care Home

Following family members and former employees raising serious concerns about the standards of care and safety of residents living with dementia in Dunmurry Manor Care Home, the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland announced an investigation on 15 February 2017.

Since opening in 2014, the care home received a number of notifications from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and the Health and Social Care Trusts about inadequate standards of care and in October 2016 the home was issued with three Failure to Comply notices by RQIA. At the end of January 2017 compliance had still not been achieved and the home was formally closed to new admissions with further conditions for its ongoing operation applied. Conditions of registration on the home have now been lifted by RQIA.

The Commissioner's investigation examined the care, treatment and experience of older people living in Dunmurry Manor Care Home from the period prior to the home's opening in 2014 until 2018. It includes an examination of the actions of all those responsible for the commissioning, provision, monitoring and regulation of the care services provided at the care home during this time.

To ensure that the investigation was as thorough and independent as possible, expert advisors in nursing care, safeguarding and human rights and the commissioning, regulation and inspection of care were appointed. This expert panel provided scrutiny, advice and guidance throughout the investigation.

Dunmurry Manor 'Home Truths' Report Launch

Home Truths Report Launch from COPNI on Vimeo.

This video is the launch of the ‘Home Truths’ Report investigating Dunmurry Manor Care Home, by the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, Eddie Lynch. Other speakers include Professor John Williams (Expert Panel Member for Legal, Safeguarding and Human Rights), Eleanor Hayes (Expert Panel Member for Nursing & Care) and Dr Robert Peat (Expert Panel Member for Regulation, Inspection & Commissioning)

Biographies of experts

: Eleanor Hayes is a former Executive Director of Nursing in the Belfast City Hospital and Green Park Healthcare Trusts with over 40 years experience working within health and social care in Northern Ireland. She is a Registered General Nurse and has a MSc in Health and Social Care Management.
In 2007 Eleanor established Hayes Healthcare Consulting as an independent consultant and has been working since then within the public, private and voluntary sectors across Ireland. Her main focus of work has been in conducting service reviews, investigating serious adverse advents and advising organisations in relation to their corporate governance activities. She was a member of the Public Inquiry panel which reported on the C. Difficile outbreak in the N.H.S.C.T. in 2008. In 2014 she was a member of the review panel which reviewed the actions taken in relation to concerns raised about the care delivered at Cherry Tree House, Carrickfergus.
: John Williams is a Professor of Law at Aberystwyth University. He is the author of many papers on the rights of older prisoners, social care of older prisoners, the case for a public law on the protection of adults at risk, care home design and human rights, and international human rights and older people. He is the author of Protection of older people in Wales: a guide to the Law, published by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. He has presented papers at conferences including the American Bar Association, the British Psychological Society, the International Association of Law and Mental Health, the Irish-Scottish Forum, Action on Elder Abuse and the International Congress of Psychology and Law. He is a regular presenter at Harvard Medical School’s Program in Psychiatry and the Law. In 2012, he was appointed to the United Nations Panel of experts advising on international human rights and older people. He regularly advises the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales on the rights of older people. John is one of the co-chairs of the Domestic Homicide Review Panels in Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. John has been a trustee of Age UK and Age Scotland. He advised the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government on the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
: Robert graduated from the University of Strathclyde in 1980 with a BA (2:1) in Sociology and Administration. He obtained his PhD from the University of Aberdeen in 1984.
Recently retired from the Scottish Care Inspectorate (May 2016) where he had worked for 3 years. Robert was the Director of Inspection and latterly the Executive Adviser to the Board of the Inspectorate.
A social worker for over 30 years Robert’s main career was in Local Government in the Tayside area of Scotland. He became Director of Social Work and Health with Angus Council in 2003 and from 2006 was also the Depute Chief Executive of the Council, a role he fulfilled alongside his duties as Director of Social Work and Health. Robert left Angus Council in 2013 at a point when the Council was undertaking a major reorganisation.
Robert was appointed as a Non Executive Member of NHS Tayside Board and took up this position on 1st January 2017. This is a 4 year appointment.

Terms of Reference of the investigation

To download a copy of the Terms of Reference for the investigation into Dunmurry Manor Care Home please click here.

FAQs

: COPNI was contacted by a number of family members and former staff raising concerns about Dunmurry Manor and the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland was asked to act on their behalf. Dunmurry Manor had also received a number of notifications that the standards of care were inadequate from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and the Health and Social Care Trusts.
In October 2016, the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust announced an investigation into all safeguarding incidents in the home. COPNI’s Chief Executive also attended a public meeting at this time and heard from past and present relatives and staff about their concerns. At this time the home was also issued with three Failure to Comply notices by RQIA. At the end of January 2017 compliance had still not been achieved and the home was formally closed to new admissions with further conditions for its ongoing operation applied. Conditions of registration on the home have now been lifted by RQIA.
The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland has a duty to ensure that services provided to older people by "relevant authorities", which includes care homes where Trusts have placed older people, are both adequate and effective. It is also the Commissioner’s duty to review the effectiveness of the law affecting older people and to ensure the laws which hold care providers to account are strong enough.
: The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) is the independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting the quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, including care homes, and encouraging improvements in the quality of those services.
: The Commissioner conducted an investigation into the care, treatment and experience of older people living in Dunmurry Manor Care Home from the period prior to the home’s opening in 2014 until 2018. It included an examination of the actions of all those responsible for the commissioning, provision, monitoring and regulation of the care services provided at the care home during this time.
Those relevant authorities are as follows: the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), Dunmurry Manor Care Home, Runwood Homes Limited, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Southern Health and Social Care Trust and the Department of Health. Interested parties include but are not limited to: the Royal College of Nursing, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, the Patient and Client Council and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
: Dunmurry Manor opened in July 2014. The investigation covered the care provided at Dunmurry Manor, from the period prior to the home’s opening in July 2014 until 2018.
: The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT) conducted their own review of Safeguarding referrals / issues within Dunmurry Manor. The COPNI investigation is independent of and much broader in remit than the SEHSCT Review.
: Representatives from the Relevant Authorities (including past and present managers, nurses, social workers, volunteers, allied healthcare professionals, social care workers and ancillary staff) were invited to give evidence as part of the investigation, along with past and present residents, family members or next of kin.
: A full copy of the investigation report is available in both hard copy and on the COPNI website.
: If you have a complaint about another home, this will be handled as part of our usual casework. Please contact COPNI on 028 9089 0892 if you wish to discuss concerns or issues you have in confidence.

Home Truths - one year on

Following the publication of Home Truths on 13 June, the relevant authorities were asked to submit responses by October. Over 400 responses in total were analysed by COPNI (7 responses to each of the 59 recommendations.) These were subsequently reviewed and analysed by The Commissioner, his investigations team and independently appointed expert panel. The Commissioner, Eddie Lynch said:

In order to determine the adequacy of the responses, I felt strongly that further information was required in respect of a number of the recommendations. I have therefore responded to each of the RAs requesting additional information on some aspects of their responses so that I can be fully assured that the appropriate action has and is being taken. Until this further information has been received and assessed, I am legally bound under the COPNI Act 2011, to continue to carry out the investigation in private.