The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published an inspection report on the child protection and welfare service operated by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) in the Galway Roscommon service area.

HIQA is authorised by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth under Section 8(1)(c) of the Health Act 2007 to monitor the quality of services provided by Tusla to protect children and promote their welfare. HIQA monitors Tusla’s performance against the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children and advises the Minister and Tusla.

HIQA conducted a focused inspection of the Galway Roscommon service area in July 2022. This inspection aimed to assess compliance with the national standards relating to the management of children who are at ongoing significant risk of harm and who are placed on Tusla’s Child Protection Notification System (CPNS). Of the six standards assessed, three were found to be compliant, two were substantially compliant and one was found to be non-compliant.

Overall, the service had strong and effective leadership, governance and management arrangements in place which ensured that children listed on the CPNS received a consistent, good quality service that was well led. The management team had robust governance systems in place which provided appropriate assurances to the area manager on the quality of the service provided. Inspectors found that the child protection conference (CPC) chairperson had good management and oversight systems in place.

There was a culture of openness within the service, with a strong emphasis on quality improvement. There were good communication systems in place, and the senior management team were committed to learning and development. Supervision was embedded within local practice, but improvements were required in its frequency. Inspectors found that service risks were appropriately identified and managed. The service had systems in place to review and assess its effectiveness of service delivery and to identify service improvements for children and their families.

Tusla’s interim national guidelines on CPC’s and the CPNS had been reviewed and updated by the Child and Family Agency, however these updated guidelines had not been implemented at the time of the inspection.

The scheduling of CPC’s was timely and responsive decision-making at conferences ensured that children’s safety was prioritised by the service. Inspectors found that children who were at risk of significant harm had child protection safety plans in place to protect and promote their welfare. However, improvements were required in relation to the frequency of visits to children listed as active on the CPNS, and in the quality and monitoring of safety plans.  

The area appropriately reviewed child protection safety plans and interventions. Children were appropriately delisted with clear rationales provided for the decision to delist the child.

The service supported and promoted multidisciplinary involvement and cooperation to ensure that the needs of children were met in a timely way. There were communication systems in place to ensure that information was appropriately shared with the relevant professionals. However, challenges in the provision of suitable alternative care placements in the area had resulted in the needs of a child with complex needs not being met.

The inspection report and compliance plan can be found at the link below.