A Health Service Executive (HSE) review of the rape of a nursing home resident by a healthcare worker has been escalated to the National Independent Review Panel (NIRP).
The victim, who had Alzheimer’s disease, was raped by the healthcare assistant in a nursing home operated by the HSE during the lockdown in April 2020.
Emmanuel Adeniji initially denied the attack but pleaded guilty after his DNA matched a sample from the victim.
He was jailed five months later in July 2020 for 11 years, in what was said to be one of the fastest rape cases to come before the courts. The nursing home cannot be named for legal reasons.
The HSE’s safeguarding team launched an investigation into the nursing home and the risks to other residents who were also exposed to the healthcare worker.
Gardaí this weekend indicated they have received no further complaints about the former worker and the investigation has been completed. A garda spokesperson said there are “no ongoing investigations at this time.”
However, news the case has now been referred to the NIRP signals an escalation in the investigation.
The NIRP panel reviews only cases suspected of the most “serious failings” by the HSE that have caused “significant harm or compromised the quality of life of those concerned”.
Adeniji, who lived in Royal Canal Court, Kilcock, Co Kildare, worked as a healthcare assistant for 15 years. At 3am on April 3, 2020, when the country was in lockdown during the first wave of the pandemic, Adenjiji entered the woman’s room and raped her.
The extremely distressed woman told staff what had happened the following morning.
She was brought to a sexual assault treatment unit, but her family was unable to accompany her or even to see her because of the restrictions.
Adeniji, who had denied wrongdoing, was linked to the crime when his DNA matched a sample from the victim. He was also recorded on CCTV going in to the woman’s room and coming out.
The judge at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court described the rape as “an egregious breach of trust by a qualified and experienced healthcare worker”.
The woman’s daughter told the court Adeniji was an “animal” who had taken her mother’s security away and “single-handedly destroyed” her life.
She said her mother was terrified that he would return to her room. “We always said we will dread the day she loses her memory but now one day we hope she wakes up and doesn’t remember,” she said.
A probation report on the man suggested he had little insight of the effect of his actions on the woman and that although he accepted his actions were heinous and expressed remorse, it was felt his words lacked depth. The HSE safeguarding team conducted a wider investigation, but this has now been referred to the NIRP.
The NIRP was established in 2017 by the HSE and is managed by an independent chairperson.
It has completed two reports into serious incidents since then, including the Brandon report which revealed the “devastating” sexual abuse of 18 residents in a nursing home in Donegal by another resident.
Social workers have called for greater awareness of the potential for sexual abuse of residents in long-term care facilities.
There were 444 concerns about the sexual abuse of adults raised with the HSE’s safeguarding teams in 2020 — both in community and residential settings.
These included 107 allegations of sexual abuse of people aged over the age of 65. There were also 109 cases of institutional abuse reported to safeguarding teams.
The HSE National Safeguarding Office (NSO) annual report shows 65pc of concerns were reported by voluntary agencies.
The Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) has called for legal powers to fully investigate concerns about abuse and neglect in private nursing homes, as well as in state-operated facilities.
Vivian Geiran, who chairs the association of social workers, said: “The IASW continues to call for the introduction of mandatory reporting to ensure staff know how to identify and report all forms of abuse, including sexual abuse.
"We must publish national data about the rates and trends of sexual abuse experienced by residents each year.
“In Northern Ireland and the UK, serious investigations into abuse in care settings are routinely published in full.
"The Irish Government urgently needs to deliver the same kind of transparency in our reviews, so we can collectively learn how to support and protect residents.
“Vital lessons will not be learned if reports remain unpublished.”
Original Article:https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/hse-escalates-review-into-rape-of-resident-in-nursing-home-by-carer-41317983.html
