Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published 23 inspection reports on designated centres for people with disabilities. 

Inspection reports have been published on centres operated by: Lotus Care Limited; MyLife by Estrela Hall Limited; Nua Healthcare Services Limited; Peter Bradley Foundation CLG; Positive Futures: Achieving Dreams. Transforming Lives. CLG; Praxis Care; Redwood Neurobehavioural Services Unlimited Company; Resilience Healthcare Limited; RK Respite Services Ltd; Saint Patrick's Centre (Kilkenny)/trading as Aurora-Enriching Lives, Enriching Communities; St Christopher's Services CLG; St Joseph's Foundation; Stepping Stones Residential Care Limited; Stewarts Care DAC; and The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland.

Inspectors found good practice in many of the centres inspected, including:

• At a centre in Louth operated by MyLife by Estrela Hall Limited, residents had a mix of employment, meaningful activities and opportunities including, attending a day service, college courses and volunteering. One resident worked in paid employment in the provider's maintenance department. The inspector observed that residents were supported, in line with their wishes, to spend time with their families and visit their family homes each week.
• Residents were supported to take holidays abroad and achieve personal goals, while living at a centre in Longford operated by St Christopher's Services CLG. One resident spoke about going on holidays to New York, and another resident spoke about achieving their goal of taking a trip in a helicopter. Some residents chatted with inspectors about their love of music, and four residents had attended the ‘Late Late Show Country Special’.

Some centres were required to make improvements to enable the best possible outcomes for residents. Providers of these centres submitted compliance plans outlining the changes they will make following the inspection. These included:

• Stepping Stones Residential Care Limited responded promptly to immediate and urgent actions issued by inspectors during an inspection of one of their designated centres. The provider responded by setting out, in writing, how they would address concerns relating to night-time staffing supervision arrangements. The provider also took immediate action to address fire safety deficits which inspectors identified during the inspection. In addition, the provider was required to make arrangements to ensure food storage practices and nutritional planning for residents were improved after deficits were identified in this area. 
• Residents’ meal plans did not indicate a healthy balanced diet at a centre operated by Redwood Neurobehavioural Services Unlimited Company. In addition, improvements were required in measures to protect against infection. In response, the person in charge conducted a full review of all resident meal planners to ensure meals were balanced, varied and nutritionally appropriate. 
• At three centres operated by Saint Patrick's Centre (Kilkenny)/trading as Aurora-Enriching Lives, Enriching Communities, residents did not have full access to their finances and better oversight was required by the provider. In response, the provider undertook to review residents’ access to their finances and ensure appropriate safeguarding measures were in place.  

Editor’s notes:

• 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 services for people with disabilities in Ireland.