Smaller nursing homes 'the best way to improve standards'
The man who wrote the damning report into Leas Cross nursing home says building smaller facilities may be the best way to ensure the highest standard of care.
Professor Des O'Neill was speaking during an appearance before the Oireachtas Health Committee today to answer questions about his findings.
His report was commissioned after a television documentary exposed poor standards and the apparent mistreatment of patients at the Leas Cross home in Swords, Co Dublin.
It found that complaints about the facility were never properly dealt with.
It also accused successive governments of failing to ensure the quality of care for elderly people nationwide, failing to establish a proper inspection regime and failing to monitor deaths in nursing homes.
Professor O'Neill told the Oireachtas Health Committee today that one way to improve the situation would be to make nursing homes smaller to ensure patients get a high-quality service.
"That's going to be more expensive, but I think it's more worthwhile," he said.
