THE WAY disability services are funded by the State needs to be radically changed if the basic rights of vulnerable people are to be adequately protected, an inquiry by the Irish Human Rights Commission has found.
In a report published yesterday, the commission urged health authorities to fund services based on individuals’ needs and to introduce independent inspections of residential services without delay.
The recommendations form part of an inquiry into the provision of care for up to 77 people with severe to profound disabilities at the John Paul Centre in Galway, which is run by the Brothers of Charity.
The commission found evidence of “serious gaps” in the provision of basic services at the centre, such as speech and language therapy, as well as inadequate physical conditions.
Speaking at the report’s launch, the commission’s president, Dr Maurice Manning, said it concluded that the human rights of vulnerable people were not being fully protected.
“All of these issues are having a detrimental impact on the dignity and well-being of the people affected. Urgent action is needed to increase multi-disciplinary services, including speech and language and occupational therapy in particular,” Dr Manning said.
The inadequacy of these services appeared to reflect inattention by the State authorities to individuals’ needs, he added.
The commission has made more than 40 recommendations for change which have implications for disability services, locally as well as nationally. These include:
- Person-centred needs assessments for people with disabilities
- Individual needs to form the basis for service agreements between health authorities and service providers
- Increased speech and language, as well as occupational therapy, at the John Paul Centre
- Speedy introduction of independent inspections of disability by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
The John Paul Centre parents and friends group, which brought the issue of care standards to light, said it felt vindicated by the report and called for the full implementation of its recommendations.
Group spokesman PJ Murray said the lack of early provision of crucial therapies has made life difficult for residents and their families.
“Everyone strives to find a place with the expertise to bring your child to their full potential. It is haunting to watch them grow into adults, without a meaningful programme, and consequently deteriorate and become self-destructive,” he said.
Anne Geraghty, acting chief executive of the Brothers of Charity in Galway, welcomed the report’s findings but warned that funding cuts make it very difficult even to maintain existing services.
She said the service would lose about €2 million in funding this year as a result of “value for money” cuts and a freeze on staff recruitment. This would make existing services “unsafe”.
“We cannot sustain that level of cuts and maintain services at 2009 levels. If we have to make cuts of that magnitude, and if we cannot replace frontline staff, the quality of the services we can deliver will seriously deteriorate and the safety of vulnerable people will be compromised,” she said.
The Health Service Executive said the report acknowledged many examples of best practice at the centre, but also highlighted places where improvements were needed. Ann Kennelly, the HSE’s national lead on disabilities, said: “This report will be invaluable to all service providers and the HSE as we work together to develop and improve services.”