Call for independent review of Valley Nursing Home closure

Last week, an independent Fermanagh and Omagh councillor told a meeting of the local authority that a number of vulnerable residents had died after being moved out of the home after it was deemed unfit to operate following an unannounced inspection by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) in October 2020.

Donal O’Cofaigh further alleged that some of the residents had been transferred to facilities with confirmed outbreaks of Covid-19.

Now, Gerry Cullen, whose brother, Donal, was among the residents in the home when it closed, has called for the probe into the circumstances of what happened. Gerry says he has been told that the deaths cannot be attributed to the closure of the home.

“If an investigation has been held already into what happened at the home, then I call on the Health Minister Robin Swann to release the findings and the lessons learned,” he said.

While Mr Cullen’s brother sadly passed away in May this year, the Dungannon man intends to carry on his tireless campaigning on the issue.

“It is now my intention to seek a meeting with Robin Swann and be accompanied at that by Fermanagh and Omagh councillor, Donal O’Cofaigh, Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, Deborah Erskine, and the TUV leader, Jim Allister, who has been supporting me in this.”

Mr Cullen also said it was his belief that the patients, their families and the nursing staff at the home have been ‘caught up’ in the controversy surrounding the closure of the Valley Nursing Home.

He said it was his desire to ensure that no other care home, or families would have to go through something similar to what those involved in the closure of the Valley Nursing Home had experienced.

“We have to ask why there was such a devastating impact and so much loss of life as a result of this closure,” he added.

The Valley Nursing Home closed as a result of serious concerns in relation to the health, welfare and dignity of residents, management and governance arrangements, and adherence to infection prevention and control requirements.