Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published 28 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 28 inspections, inspectors found a generally good level of compliance with the regulations and standards in 18 centres operated by a number of providers including: Ability West; Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG; CoAction West Cork CLG; Dara Residential Services; GALRO Unlimited Company; Gheel Autism Services CLG; and Health Service Executive (HSE).

Examples of good practice observed by inspectors included:

• At a centre in Galway operated by Ability West, residents had attended an Irish holiday park as part of a very successful holiday, and they were planning a return trip in the near future. Residents also attended various concerts and one resident was going to a country and western concert on the evening of inspection.
• A resident chatted with the inspector and confirmed that they enjoyed a better quality of life in a HSE centre in Waterford as they had previously lived in a congregated setting. The resident accessed the community on a daily basis, liked their home, and said the food was very good and they could get a cup of tea at any time.
• Residents were supported by staff to use visual planners to manage their daily routines, during an inspection of a centre in Dublin operated by Gheel Autism Services CLG. A resident was very proud to show their new bedroom and the inspector saw that they had a new double bed and that the room was decorated according to their preferences. They also showed the inspector that they could chose to lock their bedroom when they were not at home and carried the key on them.
   

Non-compliance that impacted on the delivery of care and support to residents was identified in 10 other centres. 

Poor governance impacted on residents at two centres operated by Camphill Communities of Ireland. In one centre, residents’ rights were undermined due to poor staffing arrangements and improvements were needed to meet residents’ healthcare needs. While at the other centre, it was not adequately resourced by the provider to meet residents’ needs.

Poor governance was identified at a centre operated by Ability West. An immediate action was issued to the provider to review staffing arrangements.

At a centre operated by Barróg Healthcare Limited, poor governance meant previous actions by the provider to improve compliance had not been met. An urgent action was issued to the provider to address fire safety measures. 

At a centre operated by GALRO Unlimited Company improvements were required relating to the management of incidents and fire safety measures at the centre.

Across four centres operated by the HSE, improvements were required in governance and management, staffing, fire safety, and residents’ personal finances arrangements.

Finally, improvements were required to minimise risks to residents and measures to protect against infection at a centre operated by Dundas Unlimited Company.