The Nationalist Party has expressed concern about staff transfers at St Vincent de Paul Home and their impact on patient care.

The party noted that yesterday, relatives of patients cared for in the Home's Activity Centre, which is also a respite centre for people in  the community suffering dementia, were told that the centre was being closed.

Later, the staff were told that the centre would not be closed, but they were summoned to the Superintendent's office so that alternative work could be found for them.

Now, it appeared that this facility would be run by an Occupational Therapist and other staff, mostly well-known Labour activists, the PN said.

These transfers followed other unreasonable transfers in the same Home and cast doubts over the way this sector was being run, the party added. 

It asked what had become of the road map for this sector and whether the impact of these transfers had been considered.