Huge amount of oversight atRalphs Close

Health Minister Edwin Poots said steps were being taken place to transform the culture of care at the new state-of-the-art Ralphs Close facility from a nursing model to a social care model.

An anonymous whistleblower first wrote to the Western Trust on July 24 alleging vulnerable adults at the care home were being mistreated.

This prompted a series of inspections of the facility during august that uncovered a number of failings.

Amongst these were the finding that a manager had complained to the Trust about inadequate staffing levels but that the required staff complement had not been achieved.

Now Mr Poots has told MLAs investigations are continuing.

“I can advise that the trust, working closely with the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), has put in place an improvement plan to bring about the change required to ensure that Ralph’s Close fully meets all the statutory regulations and standards.

“The improvement plan will transform the culture of care at Ralphs Close from a nursing model to a social care model, which is more in keeping with a residential home.

“It will also address leadership and governance, training and development, and adult safeguarding. Implementation is being overseen by a project board that is made up of senior managers from the trust.

“The trust is reporting progress to the Department, the Health and Social Care Board, the Public Health Agency and the RQIA. It is also keeping all the families of residents in Ralphs Close fully informed of developments,” he said.

He added: “The PSNI investigation into the original allegations is continuing. It remains the case that we should not comment in any way that might prejudice that investigation. However, along with other Members, I encourage anyone with information that may assist the investigation to bring it forward.”

He also said a huge amount of supervision was underway at the home involving people from outside.

“The Western Trust is collaborating very closely to deal with the allegations. People from outside the facility have been brought in to oversee, supervise and ensure the safety of everyone in the facility. Therefore, a huge amount of supervision is currently taking place,” he stated.