Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published 15 reports on residential services for people with disabilities. HIQA inspects against the Health Act 2007 (Care and Support of Residents in Designated Centres for Persons (Children and Adults) with Disabilities) Regulations 2013 and the National Standards for Residential Services for Children and Adults with Disabilities which apply to residential and respite services in Ireland.

Eight inspections found a good level of compliance with the requirements of the regulations and standards. These included centres operated by the following providers: Dundas Ltd, Rehabcare, St Christopher’s Services Limited, Stewarts Care Limited, and Western Care Association.

Inspection reports on six centres run by Brothers of Charity Services have been published. While a good level of compliance was found in three centres, risks relating to positive behaviour support were identified in two centres, and the third centre had not notified HIQA of all incidents, as required by the regulations.

One report relates to centres operated by St Patrick’s Centre (Kilkenny) Ltd. This centre was found to be institutional and located on a congregated setting. Governance and management of this centre was ineffective and did not ensure residents' care and welfare was managed safely.

Inspectors found a number of breaches of regulation in a campus-based centre operated by Peamount Healthcare. The governance and management of the centre did not ensure that the service was meeting the identified needs of the residents in a safe and consistent manner. Inadequate staffing levels in the centre were impacting on the provision of safe services for residents and the centre’s ability to meet residents’ social care needs.

A report on a Camphill Communities of Ireland centre found that governance systems had been implemented to improve the quality and safety of the service provided and promote accountability following the previous inspections. However, a number of actions were required on this inspection to ensure compliance with the regulations.

An inspection was carried out in a centre operated by St Joseph’s Foundation following an application to vary the centre’s conditions of registration. The provider was requested to review the working arrangements of the person in charge in order to better meet the needs of residents.