The Health Information and Quality Authority has today published its first report under the Authority’s new inspection regime aimed at strengthening and improving Ireland’s child protection and welfare services.

Phelim Quinn, Director of Regulation with HIQA, said: “The commencement by HIQA of the monitoring and inspecting of children and family services is a significant milestone in providing assurance to children, families and the public on the quality and safety of child protection and welfare services. For the first time in Ireland the State’s child protection and welfare function is subject to an independent oversight process.”

“HIQA is inspecting HSE Children and Family Services to measure its compliance with the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children. The Authority is also assessing the implementation by the HSE of Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2011). The Authority will report on its findings publicly and, as part of this process, we hope to promote improvements in these services.”

The first inspection report published by HIQA is of the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Service in Carlow/Kilkenny. This report is the first in a series of reports into Ireland’s child protection and welfare services that will be published by Authority.

"While finding that services provided to children were safe overall, there were a range of non-compliance issues identified during the inspection process. It is essential that the national service learns from the outcomes of this inspection and takes all steps possible to deliver protection and support for vulnerable children,” Phelim Quinn said.

The purpose of the National Standards is to provide a framework for child protection and welfare services in the new Child and Family Support Agency to effectively manage the risk of harm to children and their families, and to drive improvements in the safety and quality of the services they provide.

Further child protection and welfare inspection reports from HIQA will be published and available to download from www.hiqa.ie in the coming weeks.

ENDS

Further Information: 

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, Health Information and Quality Authority, 01 814 7481 / 086 244 7623, mwhelan@hiqa.ie

Notes to the Editor: 

• Child protection is the process of protecting individual children identified as suffering, or likely to suffer from, significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect.
• HIQA is authorised under the Health Act 2007 to monitor the HSE’s compliance with the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children and with the Regulations.
• The National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children assess the wider performance of the HSE Children and Family Services or successor agency, as a service provider, in relation to its statutory functions to provide adequate care and protection to children, under Section 3 of the Child Care Act, 1991 and its statutory duties under Children First. The Standards will also guide the HSE’s or successor agency’s response to child protection and welfare concerns and how these concerns are managed.
• In order to drive improvements in the quality and safety of child protection and welfare services, the Authority will:
  • Assess if the HSE Children and Family Services has all the elements in place to safeguard children and young people.
  • Establish if failure to have these elements in place poses a serious risk to the children receiving these services.
  • Identify and report on areas of good practice which protect children and promote their welfare, whilst respecting and upholding their rights.
  • Seek assurances from the HSE that it is safeguarding children through the mitigation of serious risks.
  • Inform the public and promote confidence through the publication of the Authority’s findings.
• HIQA inspections of HSE Child Protection and Welfare Services will initially involve announced inspections of HSE local health areas, with each area being inspected at least once every three years. Announced inspections will enable the Authority’s inspectors meet with children, their families and carers and hear first-hand their experiences of the services they are receiving. Unannounced inspections will also be introduced and will involve HIQA inspectors arriving into HSE local health areas to assess how the service is coping with the needs of vulnerable children.
• The National Standards were approved by the Board of HIQA and by the Minister for Health and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in 2012.
• More information is also available from the HIQA page on Facebook and Twitter. To receive HIQA SMS news alerts to your mobile phone text “HIQA” to 51444