Courts / Donegal / Report

Care home patient found on excrement-strewn floor after being locked in room

Summary

The Workplace Relations Commission has dismissed the unfair dismissal claim of care worker Varghese Matthew. In a decision published Monday, adjudicating officer Janet Hughes found that Matthew's dismissal by Donegal Home Care Ltd, trading as Home Instead Senior Care, was reasonable. The case concerned an incident on 1 April 2020 at Ballywaltrim House in Raphoe, Co Donegal, where a patient with an intellectual disability was found on an excrement-strewn floor after being locked in his room overnight. Matthew alleged he was instructed by a staff member to act as a doorkeeper and stay outside the room, a direction he claimed originated from an HSE employee. He stated he only discovered the door was locked after the other worker left. The tribunal found no malice or deliberate neglect on Matthew's part but determined his actions were based on "unquestioning adherence" to that direction. The officer concluded that speaking to the service user through a glass panel for four hours reached a threshold of gross misconduct due to incompetence and a failure to provide sound professional judgment. Although the officer noted Matthew was effectively a "scapegoat" and that the employer's investigation was delayed and limited, she upheld the dismissal, finding it reasonable for the employer to conclude Matthew's primary responsibility was to the service user, not to staff instructions.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Care home patient found on excrement-strewn floor after being locked in room. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• 1 April 2020 Other
• 2023-01-30 Publication

Why: The HSE took initial steps, but then told his employer, Donegal Home Care Ltd, trading as Home Instead Senior Care, that it was "parking" the matter because of the crisis, the tribunal was told. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

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Read the original CNI report