The Leas Cross scandal erupted in Ireland when the nursing home with this name, located near Swords in Dublin, closed several weeks after a 2005 Prime Time television report revealed sub-standard living conditions there.^[1] The documentary showed a patient with several bedsores who went on to develop MRSA.^[2] Public concern over the Leas Cross scandal led to the formation of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).^[3]

Peter McKenna, a 60-year-old man with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's, who died 13 days after being transferred to the home in 2000, was the subject of a report by Martin Hynes, former head of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.^[2][4] Mr. McKenna had been transferred from St. Michael's House to the nursing home despite the objections of his family - he was a ward of court.^[4] He needed round-the-clock nursing care but that was difficult to manage in the nursing home.^[4] St. Michael's House described the report as flawed.^[4]

A report by Professor Des O'Neill reviewed deaths at the home between 2002 and 2005, finding that care was deficient and it was consistent with a finding of institutional abuse.^[5][6]

The report also expressed concern at the short time between patients being transferred from hospitals to the nursing home, particularly in the case of patients from St. Itas Psychiatric Hospital.^[6][7] It also stated that there was almost a complete absence of systematic monitoring of deaths in Irish nursing homes.^[6][7]