Service provider for disabled faced with possible closure to apply to register new campus
One of the larger service providers in the State for people with a disability, which faced the possible closure of some of its centres over serious concerns for residents, will now apply to register its newly reconfigured campus after a positive inspection report by health watchdog HIQA.
There had been "significant concerns" about the centres operated at the Palmerstown campus in Dublin by Stewarts Care Ltd, to the extent where statutory notices of proposal to cancel the registration of two of the six designated centres were issued in June 2017, and similar statutory notices issued in relation to the remaining four centres on the campus in August of the same year.
Three centres - Adults Services Palmerstown Designated Centre 1, Adults Services Palmerstown Designated Centre 5 and Adults Services Palmerstown Designated Centre 6 - were 100% non-compliant with standards in 2017 inspections.
In those prior inspections, a range of issues was found, including widespread use of restrictive practices on the campus, that "mealtimes tended to be generally unpleasant, with institutional arrangements seen, such as hurried and fixed mealtimes to facilitate staff breaks" and that "many residents lived in overcrowded houses and were required to share bedrooms".
It also found residents were not being adequately safeguarded and had a poor quality of life.
However, improvements were noted during the past year. Last October the provider submitted applications to register newly reconfigured centres to the Office of the Chief Inspector, promising to divide the current six centres on the campus into smaller centres, each with their own person in charge.
According to the report: "Between 2017 and January 2019, eight residents have successfully moved from their campus setting into a more appropriate placement in the community as part Stewarts Care Limited’s transition process. As of January 2019, there were 152 residents still living in the provider’s campus-based settings."
HIQA said: "To date, inspectors have found that improvements have been made in the safety and the quality of life for many residents, and in the physical environment that residents live in.
"However, this was not consistent in all centres and further progress and improvement was required to ensure all residents were provided with high-quality and safe services."
It said it would maintain regulatory oversight across services provided by Stewarts Care Limited.
The Board of Stewarts later confirmed that it has applied to HIQA for the registration of its newly reconfigured Designated Centres for the care and support of persons with an intellectual disability at its Palmerstown campus and "accepted fully its responsibility to resolve the issues of non-compliance highlighted by HIQA’s work".
