Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published 30 inspection reports on designated centres for people with disabilities. HIQA inspects against the Health Act 2007 (Care and Support of Residents in Designated Centres for Persons (Children and Adults with Disabilities) Regulations 2013 and the National Standards for Residential Services for Children and Adults with Disabilities, which apply to residential services for people with disabilities in Ireland. 

Of these 30 inspections, inspectors found a generally good level of compliance with the regulations and standards in 16 centres operated by a number of providers including; Avista CLG, Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG, COPE Foundation, Delta Centre CLG, Dundas Unlimited Company, Enable Ireland Disability Services Limited, GALRO Unlimited Company, KARE, Promoting Inclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities, and St Hilda's Services.

Examples of good practice observed by inspectors included:

• At a centre in Dublin operated by Avista CLG, residents had access to a variety of activities which they enjoyed. Residents were supported to personalise their bedrooms and also had access to facilities across the campus setting such as communal and sensory gardens.
• At a centre in Cork operated by COPE Foundation, residents had increased access due to a reconfiguration of the kitchen and garden areas. Residents spoke about how the changes in their home allowed them to be more social and participate in household chores. Residents were very proud of their home and how they had personalised their bedrooms. Residents also used a PowerPoint presentation to show the inspector what goals they were working towards achieving in the year. 
• Residents at a centre in Kildare operated by KARE, Promoting Inclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities, spoke about how they had been supported to move into the centre following its opening. Residents spoke about how they liked their new home and were involved in making decisions through regular house meetings and involvement in household chores.

Inspectors identified non-compliance with the regulations and standards on 14 inspections.

A high level of non-compliance was identified at a centre operated by MooreHaven Centre (Tipperary) Designated Activity Company. The cleanliness and condition of the premises required improvement to protect against infection while better fire safety measures were also required. The provider was also required to improve its arrangements to ensure residents’ finances were safeguarded.

Non-compliance was identified at two centres operated by COPE Foundation. Improvements were required in different areas such as staffing and training, restrictive practices and residents’ personal plans and the management of complaints. 

Five reports have been published on non-compliant centres operated by Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG. Across these centres, improvements were required in different areas such as fire safety, management of medication, staffing, and premises. 

Two reports with non-compliance have been published on centres operated by Avista CLG. In one centre, insufficient staffing and safeguarding incidents impacted on residents’ quality of life, while better measures to protect against infection were required at another centre. 

At a centre operated by Cheeverstown House CLG, non-compliance was identified in fire safety measures and in the condition of the premises.

Insufficient staffing was identified at a centre operated by Ability West.

Finally, improvements were required in residents’ assessments and personal plans at two centres operated by Kingsriver Community Holdings CLG.

Read all reports at the link below.