A PRIVATE nursing home company has taken legal action to ensure its Co Fermanagh premises remain open after being shut down by the watchdog over appalling care failings.
Runwood Homes, an Essex-based firm which owns Ashbrooke home in Enniskillen, said it would pursue "all legal remedies" to keep it running.
Gavin O'Hare-Connolly, the new Northern Ireland group operations director for Runwood, admitted they had a 'failure in management' but were hoping to work with the Western Health Trust to overhaul the facility so as to ensure its 39 residents did not face the traumatic upheaval of a move.
A meeting between the company and relatives took place yesterday after trust officials said they had hoped to find new places by the end of the month.
Earlier this week the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) took the unprecedented step of closing Ashbrooke after inspectors deemed sub-standard conditions at the home were placing residents at risk.
Some vulnerable patients with dementia hadn't been washed in a month while there were serious concerns about unrecorded weight loss, according to the regulator.
Mr O'Hare-Connolly, a former nurse who was appointed to the job 48 hours after the damning RQIA spot inspection, said he was "deeply sorry" for what had happened.
He confirmed that a 'deep clean' of the premises had taken place and that they now had 28 days to appeal the closure in which they would explore "all legal avenues".
Runwood took over Ashbrooke a year ago and the regulator gave it a positive inspection in May. However, within six months it had deteriorated significantly.
The company, which made a £5m profit last year, runs 11 other nursing homes in the north but has come under fire over a string of failings in almost half its facilities that resulted in multiple watchdog warnings.
Clifton nursing home in north Belfast was among those that received repeated 'failure to comply' notices following Runwood's takeover, while poor conditions at Dunmurry Manor sparked a probe by the Older People's Commissioner.
Mr O’Hare-Connolly said the families of Ashbrooke's residents "fully supported" their decision to work with the trust and RQIA to keep its doors open.
“They asked me to underline that despite recent issues, they are satisfied with the care their loved ones have received and the dedication of our staff. We are humbled by their support and our aim now is to continue providing the very best care we can on that site.
He added: "My priority in the last week was to bring in our National Health & Safety Team to conduct a complete review of all our facilities in Northern Ireland. We did so in conjunction with the RQIA, which has given all of them a clean bill of health.
"My focus now is to respond positively to requests from our Enniskillen families to continue caring for elderly residents in their own community. This is a duty and responsibility we take very seriously and we will explore every avenue to try and make that happen."
