Hiqa asks High Court to direct RTÉ’s disclosure of nursing home footage
High Court Reporters
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) is seeking a High Court order compelling RTÉ to provide it with footage gathered by the broadcaster during an investigation into standards of care in nursing homes.
RTÉ Investigates: Inside Ireland’s Nursing Homes, which was broadcast last June, focused on the treatment of residents at Beneavin Manor, in Glasnevin, Dublin 11, and The Residence in Portlaoise.
Lawyers for Hiqa told Judge Emily Egan on Tuesday that covert footage broadcast in the programme appeared to show nursing home staff engaging in “serious misconduct”, in apparent contravention of regulations and standards.
Hiqa is responsible for monitoring and inspecting nursing homes to ensure residents are safe and receive a high quality of care.
To that end, the regulator is asking the High Court to direct RTÉ to disclose footage gathered during the investigation. Such an order is known as a Norwich Pharmacal order.
Moving the application on behalf of Finbarr Colfer, Hiqa’s chief inspector of social services, Jonathan Newman BL said the order was necessary to allow the inspector to fulfil his statutory role.
Counsel said his client had an obligation to demonstrate that RTÉ had become “mixed up” in alleged “wrongdoing”.
He submitted that it was clear RTÉ had become mixed up in the wrongdoing, in the sense that the matters highlighted would not have been recorded or published without RTÉ’s involvement.
The court heard that RTÉ itself was totally innocent, and not accused of any wrongdoing.
Counsel submitted that the order was necessary, as Hiqa had no other means of obtaining the footage.
He said the order sought was proportionate, as the inspector has a “very serious” statutory role – one that he could not perform fully and properly with respect to issues in the RTÉ programme without access to the footage.
Counsel also noted that the application was unusual and had aspects to it that brought it “outside the normal thrust” of a standard Norwich Pharmacal application.
One reason for this was that the footage was not sought for the purposes of initiating civil legal proceedings, but rather to allow for the carrying out of statutory functions.
Joe Jeffers, BL for RTÉ, said the broadcaster was neither consenting nor objecting to the order sought by Hiqa.
Counsel said RTÉ welcomed Hiqa’s decision to investigate the issues highlighted in the programme.
Having regard to the fact that the footage captured images of third parties, including vulnerable residents and staff members, a court order was necessary to compel disclosure, he said.
He said RTÉ was anxious to work with Hiqa in the interest of patient safety, but said it had to balance this with competing interests.
The court heard there was an agreement between the parties on a draft order. Counsel said it was a matter for the court if it considers the order sought appropriate, in the terms agreed or at all.
Counsel said that RTÉ recognised that Hiqa’s application was a novel one.
He noted that the application went beyond the existing case law related to Norwich Pharmacal orders.
The judge said she would reserve her judgment.
