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Family of man (86) tied to chair in Omagh care home tell of ordeal

The family of Seamus Gormley have spoke out following his treatment at an Omagh care home. Picture by BBC 
The family of Seamus Gormley have spoke out following his treatment at an Omagh care home. Picture by BBC  The family of Seamus Gormley have spoke out following his treatment at an Omagh care home. Picture by BBC 

THE family of an 86-year-old man has described the "total and utter nightmare" her father endured when he was tied to a chair in a care home.

A care assistant at Drumragh Care Home in Omagh tied Seamus Gormley to the chair with a belt in 2015.

His family were told of the incident three days later when they found bruises on his arms.

Mr Gormley's daughter Eilish McCullagh said her father, who has dementia, had went through "pure torture".

"The nurse told us that dad had been tied to a chair by two staff members and had been there for at least two hours on his own," she told the BBC on Tuesday.

"There was nothing in his notes to say he had been restrained. It's a nightmare, even thinking about it.

"Nobody would do that to another human being. It was a form of abuse - pure torture.

"He didn't deserve that, he wouldn't harm anyone."

In November, care assistant Catrina Tummons from Lisnaragh Road, Dunamanagh was found guilty of assault and ill-treatment of a patient.

The home has since closed and the former owners said they co-operated fully with the investigation.

But Mr Gormley's family have criticised the regulatory body, the RQIA, describing their response as "lacking".

"They should have stepped in much much earlier," said daughter Brenda Sweeney.

The RQIA said the incident was reported to the police, the Health and Social Care Trust and the patient's family by the home.

"While RQIA does not conduct a separate investigation, it is kept advised of any actions arising from this process," it said.

Drumragh owner, the Four Seasons Care Group, said the former care home and wider company managers co-operated actively and fully with the investigation.

Meanwhile, a centre for people with disabilities in Co Louth took thousands of euro from residents' private accounts without their consent to fund services it should have been providing.

The centre, which is on the Drumcar campus of the St John of God North East Services, charged residents between 2012 and 2016.

The independent watchdog, HIQA, criticised the Saint John of God Services for appointing a former staff member to investigate the matter, a move which failed to assure the organisation that the investigation was independent.

In a statement Saint John of God Community Services said it accepts the HIQA's findings and was in a process of reimbursing residents.