Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published 22 inspection reports on 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. 

Of these 22 inspections, inspectors found a good level of compliance with the regulations and standards in nine centres, including in centres operated by Redwood Extended Care Facility Unlimited; Redwood Neurobehavioural Services Unlimited Company; RehabCare; St John of God Community Services Company Limited; St Michael's House; Stewarts Care Limited; The Rehab Group and Western Care Association.

Examples of good practice observed by inspectors included:

• Staff in a Western Care Association centre in Mayo ensured that residents had meaningful activities to engage in. In response to the cognitive needs of one resident, staff often used memory books and photos to re-orientate this resident to person, time and place. 
• Residents in a St John of God Community Services centre in Louth enjoyed a good quality of life. There was a large polytunnel in the back garden where residents were growing vegetables, fruits and plants. Some of the food was also being used for meals in the residents’ home.
• In a Redwood Extended Care Facility centre in Meath, residents participated in various activities, such as going out to buy magazines, going for long walks and watching TV with staff. These activities were undertaken as and when residents wanted. For example, some residents preferred clear routines and timetables and others preferred more spontaneous activities.

Inspectors identified non-compliance with the regulations and standards on 13 inspections. 
An inspection of an Anne Sullivan Centre CLG centre found that not all staff had up-to-date training to support residents.

In a Redwood Extended Care Facility centre, given the number of incidents which occurred in the centre and the different needs of the residents, the inspector was not assured that residents’ individual needs could be met.

In a RehabCare centre, the safeguarding policies and processes in place to protect residents required improvement. 

In a Rehab Group centre, the provider had failed to create an appropriate isolation plan to support residents and staff, if an outbreak of COVID-19 was to occur.

Inspectors found non-compliance in four Stewarts Care centres. Three centres required improvements to strengthen governance and management procedures and to ensure that the current staffing arrangements could meet the assessed needs of residents. In the other centre, there was an absence of operational day-to-day management and oversight systems in place. 

In a centre operated by St John of God Community Services, the layout of communal space did not meet residents’ needs.

In a St Michael’s House centre, the layout of the premises required updating to meet residents’ needs.

Inspectors found non-compliance in three Sunbeam House Services centres. In one centre, some residents who required a behavioural support professional had not been referred on for this support. In the other two centres, inspectors found that a number of monitoring and auditing systems did not ensure that a safe and good quality service was being provided to residents. In one of these centres, there had been an infectious disease outbreak and the provider could not assure inspectors that continuity of care and support was provided to residents during the outbreak.

Read all reports at www.hiqa.ie.