HIQA publishes overview of inspection and monitoring activity in eight Stewarts Care Limited centres

Date of publication:

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published an overview report of inspection activity undertaken by the Office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services within HIQA between 2017 and 2018 in eight designated centres for people with disabilities, operated by Stewarts Care Limited in Dublin. 

During 2017 and early 2018, inspectors of social services found that residents living in centres operated by Stewarts Care Ltd had a poor quality of life, were not being adequately safeguarded and were not being provided with a quality of service that they were entitled to. In addition, the provider did not demonstrate an ability to address the areas of non-compliance in an effective way that improved life for all residents in the centres.

Subsequently, the Chief Inspector within HIQA deployed a range of regulatory measures to improve the outcome for residents, particularly in relation to six centres located on Stewarts Care Limited’s campus in Dublin 20 and two community-based centres located in County Dublin. 

This report, Overview of HIQA’s inspection and monitoring activity in Stewarts Care Limited 2017-2018, summarises the Chief Inspector’s escalated regulatory programme in Stewarts Care Limited and includes a summary of:

  • engagement between inspectors and Stewarts Care Limited during this time
  • findings from the 2017 inspections
  • findings from four inspections carried out between February to July 2018 to monitor improvements. These four reports are published in full today, and 
  • what residents told inspectors and what inspectors observed during visits to meet with residents which were undertaken in September 2018.

In order to drive improvements for residents living in these eight centres, the Chief Inspector undertook an escalated regulatory programme to ensure that Stewarts Care Limited improved oversight of the care and support provided to residents. This programme included:

  • requiring the provider to submit a six-month improvement plan
  • requiring the provider to submit a monthly status report on the implementation of its improvement plan 
  • monthly meetings between the provider and inspectors from January to June 2018, and
  • carrying out announced and unannounced follow-up inspections and site visits to verify information given by the provider, and to check whether residents’ quality of life was improving.

To date, inspectors have found that improvements have been made in the safety and the quality of life for many residents, and in the physical environment that residents live in. However, this was not consistent in all centres and further progress and improvement was required to ensure all residents were provided with high-quality and safe services.  

HIQA will continue to maintain regulatory oversight across services provided by Stewarts Care Limited to ensure that improvements are sustained, and to promote ongoing improvement for residents in these services and their families.

Read the overview report and inspection reports below.

For further information please contact:
Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
(01) 8147480 / 086 2447623 
mwhelan@hiqa.ie 

Notes to Editor: