Family Calls For Tighter Nursing Home Regulations

The family of Maura Reynolds who was found dead after she went missing from a nursing home one Christmas night has called for new regulations governing nursing homes.

Mrs Reynolds, a 78 year-old Alzheimer's sufferer, died after disappearing from a Bray nursing home on 25th December 2005.

Now an inquest at the Dublin City Coronor's court on Thursday has revealed Mrs Reynolds had gone missing two hours earlier than staff first said.

CCTV footage, in which Mrs Reynolds was identified by the Reynolds family, show the lady on Putland Road at 9.37pm and at Strand Road at 9.41pm, however, care assistant, Ms Cora Wu, gave evidence that she saw Mrs Reynolds between 11.30pm and 12am (midnight) on the night.

Mrs Reynolds’ body was not found until over two years later on Bray Head. Her remains lay undiscovered in nearby undergrowth until discovery by a member of the public earlier this year.

Yesterday, the inquest into her death returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

A leading garda in the investigation, Inspector Frank Keenaghan, said that had gardai not been told that Mrs Reynolds was last sighted at around 12.30, they would have expanded their investigation of CCTV footage to before midnight, and would have called out the helicopter more quickly.

The jury endorsed a series of recommendations by the HSE in relation to improvements in practices and procedures. They include key-pad locks on doors, CCTV, to ensure checks are carried out and alarmed doors, among others measures.

Speaking after the hearing, her daughter-in-law, Priscilla Reynolds, said there was an urgent need to implement new regulations drawn up to improve nursing home standards.

(DW)