HSE says it wants to avoid stand-off at Loughloe House

The HSE has said it is seeking to avoid a "stand-off" developing between its staff and Loughloe House residents who don't want to leave the Athlone facility. Joe Ruane, the HSE's Local Health Manager for Longford/Westmeath, said last week that since the closure of Loughloe House was announced, in early May, seven of its residents had moved out, five or six residents had identified locations where they would move, and approximately eleven residents and their families were refusing to engage with the HSE. Mr Ruane was addressing a special meeting of Athlone Town Council last week. In the public gallery, approximately 20 supporters of the campaign to save Loughloe House displayed signs such as 'Heartless Senseless Eviction' and 'If only Loughloe House was a bank!' Mr Ruane told those in attendance that the present moratorium on recruitment meant he'd been unable to replace a number of staff who had left Loughloe House, including a Director of Nursing who departed over a year ago. He stated that Loughloe House hadn't performed well in the recent report by HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) and there wasn't "a magic wand" he could wave which would improve the situation. "We don't have the money for extra staff or the ability to fund a new facility," he said. Mr Ruane apologised for the manner in which news of the facility's planned closure was conveyed to the residents and their families in early May. "If there's an alternative way of doing that then we'll take that on board," he said. He stressed that the decision to close the facility was not taken to save money for the HSE but rather because of concerns over the diminished level of staffing and other factors affecting patient care. "We're not saving €1 by closing Loughloe House. The staff will still have to be paid and the cost to other nursing homes will still have to be paid," he said, adding that there was no alternative available to him other than to close the facility. "The last thing I wanted was to find myself in that position (of having to announce the closure of Loughloe House). If there was an alternative route I would have taken it," he said. Some councillors pointed out that Minister of State for Health, Aine Brady, said on RTE that none of the nursing home residents would be forced to move out until they agreed to do so. Mr Ruane was pressed about what would happen if they refused to move, with Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran asking if it would be similar to a situation in which Gardai were called to remove people who were chained to railings at the passport office in Dublin. "I don't want to get into a stand-off with residents and I don't want to inflame the situation," said Mr Ruane. "Some residents and their families have not engaged with the HSE to date. It's my hope and desire that this will change. We'll wait and see." He stated that the HSE was still working towards its plan of shutting the facility within two months of the closure announcement in early May. Cllr Kieran Molloy asked if it was "the agenda of the HSE to close all of its own units which provide care for the elderly?". Mr Ruane said he was not aware of any policy decision to that effect but that if the moratorium on staffing continued and if money was not available for these facilities from the HSE's capital programme then the closure of more facilities "may be the indirect outcome". Cllr Gabrielle McFadden said there was a rumour that the mental health services based at Gentex would be moved to Loughloe House and this had been circulating before Loughloe House residents were told of its closure. Mr Ruane said no decision had been taken at this stage regarding a move of mental health services from Gentex to Loughloe. He acknowledged that day care services would be continuing at Loughloe House and that a move of the Gentex services there was a possibility. Cllr McFadden asked why no money had been invested in Loughloe House during the 'Celtic Tiger' years and Mr Ruane replied that he didn't know. Cllr Paul Hogan said that Mr Ruane had previously indicated that the HSE would be withdrawing staff two months after the closure announcement. Cllr Hogan described this as a "scare tactic" being used against the residents. The Sinn Féin councillor said that since the closure of Loughloe House was announced three residents had died and health complications had been experienced by three others. He expressed his condolences to the families affected. "My question to you is are you aware of the tactics that are currently being used on residents?" Cllr Hogan asked. "They are being told they'll be put out on the street if they don't take a place they're offered. They're told they'll be put out on the street if they talk to public representatives, or the media, or if they encourage other residents not to leave Loughloe." Mr Ruane replied that if such complaints were documented to him he would be happy to investigate them. He stated that there were some issues around the management at Loughloe House which he was not happy with, and he would be following up on them. Cllr Keena said that the HIQA report on Loughloe was not as critical as had been anticipated and that 95% of the issues it raised had been resolved. "I didn't think the report was mild - I thought it was a bad report and I wouldn't stand over it," said Mr Ruane. Cllr Aengus O'Rourke quoted a directive from the Department of Finance which stated that there would be flexibility in the moratorium on recruitment in cases involving staffing for the elderly. "It's come to a stage where there might be something on paper (about flexibility in recruiting staff) but that flexibility hasn't been experienced in practice," said Mr Ruane. Cllr Sheila Buckley Byrne asked why "such a confrontational approach" and "such a tight timeframe" had been introduced in the closure of the facility. She also asked why problems at the facility had not been dealt with earlier and questioned why the privatisation of Loughloe had not been investigated. Mr Ruane said the two-month timeframe for Loughloe's closure had been implemented because of concerns over current staffing levels, and that "it's not my approach to be confrontational". Regarding issues of maintenance and fire safety at Loughloe House, he said: "All I can work on is that which I'm alerted to. It's not my job to go into every room and look at every fire extinguisher. "I'm not happy about the situation but I have to work with the cards I'm dealt. When I became aware of issues, I acted." Regarding the privatisation of the nursing home, he said: "We didn't look at privatisation. It never came up in any conversation or discussion that we had." Concluding the discussion, Cllr Mark Cooney said: "It's clear to me that there's no concern within the HSE for people, and for the people affected in Loughloe House" - a line which drew applause from the 'Save Loughloe' campaigners in the public gallery. Cllr Cooney's final question on Loughloe was to ask if it was definitely closing or if there was any chance it would remain open. "The HSE is working to close Loughloe House," replied Mr Ruane.