A group of elderly care home residents were allegedly charged £1,600 to travel to a Daniel O’Donnell concert just seven miles away.
Mildred Wylie and her husband Norman are also said to have accompanied a brain-damaged man on 'multiple' holidays costing him £51,000.
Ms Wylie's sister also travelled on some of the trips, it is claimed, with her travel also funded by the resident.
Two adult safeguarding investigations were carried out by the Southern Health Trust in 2012/13 into alleged financial abuse at Bawn Cottage and Hebron House in Co Armagh, with many of the claims stretching back over 20 years.
Thousands of pounds of excess charges for residents' meals, outings, mileage rates and supervision are alleged by the trust, with investigators warning that concerns remain due to "lack of repayments" by home owners Norman and Mildred Wylie.
Trust chiefs also reveal they have referred Mrs Wylie to her professional body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, for a second time.
The first referral found her guilty of misconduct in relation to the care of an elderly woman and led to a sanction being imposed in 2011, which was removed after two years.
Major concerns alleged by trust chiefs include the case of 'Mr A' who had suffered brain damage following an accident.
The investigation claimed that:
- The Wylies accompanied Mr A on numerous local and overseas holidays dating back more than 25 years and costing him £51,000.
- Just over £22,000 was left in a £200,000 compensation fund awarded to Mr A by the time he was moved from Hebron House to a nursing home where no additional payments were required.
- The Wylies' "repeatedly" claimed Mr A had been placed in their care more than 20 years ago by a social worker - but the trust insists no record of this placement could be found.
Allegations were also made in relation to 'Mr C', an elderly man suffering from depression with a private trust fund amounting to £180,000:
- The report claimed that an extra charge of £170 per week was imposed for Mr C's care, with the Wylies' claiming additional care was required for ‘physical illness’. Investigators found no evidence to support this.
- The family of Mr C were also said to have questioned extra charges by the Wylies after he was moved to a nursing home in 2008 where no extra fees were required.
- Evidence of weekly overcharging above the regional rate was also allegedly discovered in relation to two other residents.
Day trips and social outings were also probed following concerns about overcharging for mileage rates:
- A 13.6 mile return trip to a Daniel O’Donnell concert in Armagh was said to have cost 19 residents £1,602 in transport costs alone. They had to pay an additional £34 each for their tickets.
- A Christmas dinner at the Cohannon Inn in Coalisland allegedly cost 16 residents almost £3,000 for a 42-mile round trip and supervision. The meal was an extra £20 each.
Investigators also claimed that a resident, Mrs ‘E’, claimed a Motability car from 1993 to 1996 in Mrs Wylie’s name. It was alleged that the trust provided transport to a day care centre four days a week and her family picked her up at weekends.
The resident’s family also said Mrs E "did not like going out in the evening" and they "were not aware" of any mobility car. No explanation was said to have been given to the trust for mileage claims on the DLA car.
In addition, investigators claimed there was overcharging for day care meals involving 19 residents amounting to almost £10,000 between 2004 and 2011.
When trust investigators approached the Wylies the hot meals were said to have been switched to packed lunches. It is claimed the couple agreed to make repayments of almost £7,000 but £2,957 remains outstanding.
The trust concludes that it must continue to refuse the admission of new patients until the findings of its investigation have been "satisfactorily addressed".
"The rationality behind the measure is to ensure that no vulnerable person can be subject to financial abuse."
