Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health David Cullinane TD has called for urgent action on failures exposed in the Ombudsman ‘wasted lives’ report.

He said that the state and HSE have failed vulnerable adults by placing them in inappropriate accommodation where they have felt completely abandoned.

Teachta Cullinane said:

“This report has exposed a systemic failure by the state and the HSE when it comes to vulnerable adults, and government must act urgently on its findings.

“The fact that hundreds of people under 65 have been placed in nursing homes instead of more appropriate accommodation is shameful.

“Many people feel trapped, have described their circumstances as ‘like prison’ – their fundamental rights are being denied.

“What they have described is highly distressing and many of these people should have been supported in independent living.

“It is nothing short of abandonment with serious deficits in informed consent.

“They have been dropped into a system designed for a very different demographic, with poor records on their circumstances and in the belief that it would be temporary situation.

“It is never appropriate to place someone in a dementia unit, for example, when they do not have dementia, and expect them to live there for years.

“Governments have committed for years to put in place emergency accommodation for these individuals with a view to supporting independent living or otherwise living at home.

“The deficits in records on these individuals and the lack of a strategy to address the issue is extremely concerning. It would seem there was no intention to right this wrong.

“The Minister must urgently produce a strategy to fix this and get these individuals the appropriate supports they need.”