Inspection raises serious concerns at local care centre

AN INSPECTION of a local centre for people with disabilities found it failed to ensure that all residents were protected from all forms of abuse.

Due to poor findings by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) at a centre operated by Stewarts Care in Palmerstown, a notice of proposed decision to cancel the registration of the centre was issued to the provider following the inspection.

Inspectors also found that practices and arrangements in the centre did not promote or uphold residents’ rights in relation to respect, dignity, privacy, and freedom of choice and control in their daily lives.

Designated Centre 28 in Stewarts provides full time residential services to eight men with intellectual disability and high support needs.

One resident told inspectors that they did not like living in the centre as there was too much noise.

They told inspectors that they would prefer to live in the ”community” so that they could go on more outings.

While the residents’ bedrooms were personalised to their tastes and preferences, other areas of the centre were untidy, dirty, and damaged.

According to the report, the “poor state of repair, poor cleanliness of the centre and the absence of robust infection prevention and control measures posed a risk to the safety and well-being of residents”.

The inspectors observed the environment to be very noisy at times and the noise levels “were not conducive to a relaxed and homely environment”.

A number of residents told inspectors that they were not happy with the noise; and some staff members told inspectors that the noise could distress residents to the point of them requiring chemical intervention, inspectors saw documented evidence of this practice.

In summary, inspectors found that residents were “not in receipt of an acceptable standard of care and support” in this centre with a number of issues impacting on their lived experience.

Overall, the inspectors found that the provider was not demonstrating they had the capacity and capability to provide a safe service to all residents.

“The provider failed to ensure the service provided was safe, effective, sufficiently resourced and

monitored, or meeting residents’ needs,” the report said.

It was also found the service provided was not reflective of a human rights and person centred approach to care and support.

The inspector’s were not assured residents were receiving a safe effective service that met their individual or collective needs.

There was a systemic failure by the provider to provide care and support in a manner that was safe or that was meeting the totality of residents’ needs.

Subsequent to the inspection and as result of the poor findings, a regulatory decision was taken to issue a notice of proposed decision to cancel the registration

of the designated centre.

“This decision was made under the grounds as set out in Section 51 (2) (b) of the Health Act (2007) as amended which states that the Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the registered provider, Stewarts Care Ltd., is not a fit person to be the registered provider of the designated centre,” according to the report.

The systems in place to manage and oversee the effectiveness and quality of the service were also “significantly lacking”.

Despite the findings, the inspectors found staff to be very knowledgeable of the needs of all of the residents.

They also observed residents being comfortable and happy in staff company.

“Staff were very open and honest in their views of the service and of the quality and care provided to residents,” the report said.

Staff expressed concern over the staffing levels and how this adversely impacted on the residents.

The staffing levels in the centre were not adequate to meet the holistic needs of the residents.

Due to the low staffing levels, the inspectors observed the staff on duty prioritised task orientated care and were unable to support all residents with meaningful activities.

HIQA said it continues to engage with the provider and has completed a follow-up inspection, which found improvements had been made.

The proposal to cancel the registration has since been withdrawn, and HIQA says a follow-up report will be published in due course.