The Owen Mor home on Derry’s Culmore Road
The Stweart family have issued a statement about the care of the loved one at the Culmore Road home through SDLP councillor Brian Tiereny.
The family are also inviting people who have or had relatives at the nursing home to attend a public meeting about the situation which is being held in the Waterfoot Hotel next Thursday, September 12 between 8 p and 10 pm.
Watchdog RQIA recently stopped further admissions to the home as they had concerns about ongoing issues.
“The Stewart family statement says: “Recent developments in Owen Mor care home have seen the RQIA take the unprecedented action in Northern Ireland to formerly closing this care home to new admissions for a 2nd time in 3 months after an unannounced visit by RQIA found that health standards raised in May remained unaddressed.
“The Home had been periodically opened again by the Western Trust some time in July, but RQIA took the decision to close again in August of this year.
“The Stewart family’s father currently resides at Owen Mor.
“They feel that the issues raised by RQIA only scrap the surface as to the failings they have been fighting tirelessly to change.
“These serious concerns need highlighted and addressed.
“The family is exhausted in there efforts going through all the apporaite complaint procedures.
“There seems to be a acceptance of the unacceptable in relation to the level of care that are love ones receive.
“There is a fundamental problem within the infrastructure of our care system that appears to have desensitized those who have a duty of care to the elderly and vulnerable in our communities to the basic human right to appropriate levels of care, protection and dignity.
“We would like to extend this invitation to anyone who has been affected by these concerns weather it be within Owen Mor care home or any other care home.
“Anyone can feel free to contact this page prior to the meeting if they would like any of there own concerns or issues raised at the meeting or simply what their story told.
“Let’s help make a difference to the quality of lives of those in our community more vulnerable than ourselves who have NO VOICE,” the statement concluded.
