Dept Of Health Commits To 'Full Response' To Dunmurry Manor Recommendations

The Department of Health has offered assurances that it will provide a full response to the recommendations outlined in the Commissioner for Older People's report into serious care failings at Dunmurry Manor care home.

Sinn Féin Carers spokesperson, Colm Gildernew, welcomed the new report after meeting senior officials at the Department of Health today.

Gildernew said: "What happened at Dunmurry Manor care home should never have happened. That has clearly been established by the Commissioner for Older People's report.

"The ongoing PSNI investigations must be thorough and robust and be concluded as quickly as possible.

"The Department of Health review must add to how the health and social care service can improve going forward rather than redoing the work of the Commissioner.

"We challenged the Department on the need for a robust response to the Commissioner for Older People's recommendations. We have received assurances that the Department will give a full response to the report.

"We also took the opportunity to raise issues within the wider health and social care sector such as workforce, budget shortfalls and the involvement of service users, families and their carers.

"In particular, the valuable role carers can play in the designing of services must not be wasted. Following the publication of the co-production guidance we pressed the department to make use of the many carers who applied for the independent expert carers panel.

"There are over 1,800 vacancies within health and social care and these vacancies create great levels of pressures on staff. We must acknowledge and value the great work being done by the workforce who are responsible for running the health service on a daily basis."

(MH/CM)