A healthcare consultant who made repeated warnings about the level of care at the Leas Cross nursing home two years ago has said patient suffering and deaths may have been avoided if the Northern Area Regional Health Authority had acted on the information.
Martin Hynes compiled a report on the inspection system at the home in August, 2004, ten months before the RTÉ Prime Time Investigates programme that revealed massive deficiencies in care there.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's This Week, Mr Hynes said he did not believe there had been a systems failure at Leas Cross.
He said people had failed to deal with the problems and individuals could be held accountable.
He said a robust system of inspection still does not exist.
Mr Hynes said current reports still focus heavily on environmental factors in homes, as opposed to the quality of care available.
