Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published 35 inspection reports on infection control in designated centres 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 services for people with disabilities in Ireland. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure robust infection control measures beyond COVID-19, the Chief Inspector of Social Services commenced a programme of targeted inspections to assess registered providers’ compliance with Regulation 27: Protection against infection. The inspection programme aims to promote continuous quality improvement in infection prevention and control, in line with the National Standards for infection prevention and control in community services, (2018), as published by HIQA. 

Inspectors found a generally good level of compliance with the regulations and standards across the 35 centres inspected. While only five centres were found to be fully compliant with Regulation 27, a further 20 centres were substantially compliant which indicates they have good infection prevention and control measures in place, but aspects of those controls could be improved further. 

Good practice was observed by inspectors in centres operated by: Ability West, Avista CLG, Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG, GALRO Unlimited Company, Health Service Executive (HSE), KARE Promoting Inclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Praxis Care, St Christopher's Services CLG, St John of God Community Services CLG, St Michael's House, Stewarts Care Limited, Sunbeam House Services CLG, and The Rehab Group.

Examples of good practice included:

• Providers had clear governance structures in place which ensured infection prevention and control (IPC) policies and procedures were in place to effectively guide staff practice and were subject to regular audit.
• Staff had access to up-to-date IPC training and changes in practices were efficiently communicated by management.
• Residents’ care plans included guidance on support for individuals’ IPC needs
• Following an outbreak of an infectious disease, IPC arrangements at centres were subject to review to ensure their ongoing effectiveness.

Ten centres operated by Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG, Camphill Communities of Ireland, Cheeverstown House CLG, the HSE, and the Muiríosa Foundation were found to be non-compliant, which meant that residents were not being adequately protected from the risk of infection. These providers were required to take actions to improve their infection prevention and control arrangements. 
Examples of areas requiring improvement observed by inspectors included:

• Infection prevention and control (IPC) practices were not consistently discussed at staff supervisions or team meetings. 
• Providers did not ensure that IPC policies and procedures were subject to regular review to ensure they were up to date. 
• Designated centres’ premises required improvements to ensure they could be effectively cleaned.
• Improvement was required to arrangements in centres for the cleaning and sanitising of medical devices. 
• A provider’s isolation unit had not been registered with HIQA.
• Cleaning schedules did not appropriately guide staff.
• Staff did not have access to regular IPC training.  

Read all reports at the link below.