Care centre apologises after teen with Down syndrome found alone near motorway
A day care centre for people with intellectual disabilities has apologised after leaving a young man behind on a swimming trip.
The young man, who has Down syndrome, was found wandering alone close to a dual carriageway near the M50 motorway. in West Dublin.
Stewarts is one of the country's largest care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities and is partly run by volunteers.
At the start of this month, a group was taken swimming at a pool on its large campus in Palmerstown.
When they got back to their day centre, volunteers realised a young man with Down syndrome was missing.
He was then found alone at the side of the N4, a nearby dual carriageway, close to the M50.
Stewarts said it "clearly didn't meet its own standards of care", and described the incident as "distressing and unacceptable".
It notified senior management and the HSE straight away and launched a detailed independent investigation.
Stewarts said it is determined to make sure something like this never happens again, and while it has apologised unreservedly to the young man and his family, it recognises it has not yet provided a satisfactory explanation.
