Care and safety standards at disability centre criticised

Care and fire safety standards at a residential centre for people with intellectual disabilities in Kilkenny have been criticised in reports published by the Health Information and Quality Authority.

The registration of a unit at St Patrick’s Centre in which 28 people were resident was cancelled by court order in June after Hiqa inspectors raised concerns over fire safety and other issues.

The HSE took charge of the unit for the 28-day period of deregistration, with the interim order being subsequently extended for a period of two months to September 21st.

The report which formed the basis for the court order, published on Thursday, found the premises of the centre was “not fit for its stated purpose”.

Doorways too narrow

Flooring was in disrepair throughout all units, furniture was held together with duct tape, paint was peeling from window frames, the ceilings were damp and doorways were too narrow to easily accommodate wheelchairs.

The report said routines, practices and facilities placed undue restrictions on residents’ activities and impinged on their rights and civil liberties.

“Residents’ independence was not actively promoted and maximised. Visitors could not be received in private,” it said.

It added the centre was non-compliant with 17 out of 18 issues inspected for. “Inspectors were not assured that the health, safety, wellbeing and quality of life for residents in this centre was promoted and protected,” it said.

It was found there was an unsuitable mix of residents with complex needs in the centre, which led to incidents of injury and harm between peers, such as hair pulling, hitting out or biting occurring frequently.

Residents were not supported and encouraged to have control over their own finances, the report added. Their money was instead held in a central account which was managed by the centre.

A further report detailing follow-up inspections in August and September found that four areas of care and administration inspected in June remained non-compliant.

Fire safety

This report highlighted a combination of incomplete remedial fire safety building works along with continued shortcomings in fire safety management arrangements, such as dealing with evacuation scenarios.

“Inspectors found that while a significant quantity of fire safety remedial work had been completed, more was required in order for the buildings to be judged compliant with respect to fire precautions.

“Furthermore, inspectors identified that significant improvement was still required in relation to the fire safety management arrangements and fire procedures in place within the centre.”

In terms of governance and management, the report said inspectors were not assured there was effective leadership to guide staff.

“Overall, inspectors were not assured there was adequate oversight of safety arrangements, operational management and administration of the designated centre by the HSE.

“The current governance and management systems did not support staff to exercise their personal and professional responsibility for the quality and safety of the services that they are delivering.”