HIQA report on Cork centre for people with intellectual disabilities raises safety concerns
A health watchdog report on a Cork centre for people with intellectual disabilities has raised concerns for the safety of those in its care due to regular incidents of ‘peer-to-peer abuse’ and challenging resident behaviour.
The HSE said it was “surprised and disappointed” by some of the feedback.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) inspected the HSE Cork Youghal Community Hostels in February 2018 - despite being told the premises would be closed by the end of 2017 due to concerns raised in previous audits.
Hiqa inspectors had deemed that the design and layout of the centre ‘was not suitable for its stated purpose’.
The centre had, at the time of inspection, 16 male and female residents spread across two houses.
The report found that there was “a marked contrast in the experiences of the residents living in each of the houses”.
However, the HSE had yet to buy and adapt alternative accommodation or transfer residents which, inspectors found, “had a negative impact on the quality of life and safety of residents in one of the houses that comprised the centre”.
The report stated that there were “instances of alleged, suspected or confirmed peer-to-peer abuse”, the majority of which had not been notified to Hiqa as required by regulations.
The person in charge of the centre had also failed to notify Hiqa that a limit was imposed on one resident’s access to alcohol.
It found the provider did not ensure services were safe and appropriate “as a result of the ongoing, identified incompatibility of the residents in one house”.
“Despite the acknowledged incompatibility of residents in this house, the practice of sharing bedrooms continued for the majority of residents,” the report found.
“While the provider had made efforts to address this matter, the impact on residents' continued safety and welfare is of concern,” inspectors noted.
Residents in the centre told inspectors “that they did not want to live in this house because of peer-to-peer incidents”.
“There was no evidence of an assessment undertaken to identify the cause of a resident’s challenging behaviour,” the report read.
It further stated that “evidence indicated that the residents in one house were inappropriately placed resulting in peer-to-peer incidents occurring on a regular basis between residents in this house”.
The inspection report was one of 27 published by Hiqa on services for people with disabilities.
A spokesperson for the HSE’s Cork Kerry Community Healthcare said it accepts the report, but noted a subsequent inspection found “just two areas of moderate non-compliance”.
Certain aspects of the February 2018 inspection feedback surprised and disappointed us and we asked HIQA to clarify a number of issues raised.
"The May 2018 inspection team found the centre to be compliant in 11 areas and recommended registration for the centre.
It said none of the non-compliances highlighted in either inspection was rated as high-risk by HIQA and that the HSE remains “confident that staff provide care that is high quality and safe”.
It had initially told Hiqa that it would have residents moved to a new property by last September - but this move has yet to take place.
While the purchase of a particular property has taken longer than we had planned, we are now very glad to confirm that a new home will be ready shortly for a number of residents to move into.
This will address many of the issues raised in the report of February 2018 in relation to the sharing of bedrooms and the compatibility of particular residents,” the HSE said.
