Sir, – I am sure anybody watching the Prime Time Investigates programme of May 30th, 2005 will never forget the harrowing scenes of abuse of residents of Leas Cross. Following this and the public outcry, inspections of “nursing homes” were introduced by Hiqa.
In October 2007, St Joseph’s Association met Hiqa to start the consultation process, with a firm view that independent inspections would be introduced for “private, and voluntary intellectual disability facilities”. In 2009 standards were introduced by Hiqa where facilities can work to these standards, but no inspections.
It is now four-and-a-half years since we started on the road to have these inspections introduced and the burning question remains: why the delay? Do we have to wait for another hidden camera to go into an intellectual disability facility here before anything is done? God forbid.
We are again calling on the Minister for Disabilities, Kathleen Lynch to introduce these inspections. The cost of doing nothing here could far out way the eventual cost of another scandal. These people must be protected. – Yours, etc,