Secure unit for troubled teens slated by State inspectors

THE country’s only secure facility for troubled teenagers has been severely criticised by State inspectors.

Stressed staff are leaving Ballydowd Special Care Unit in droves; management appear unable to provide consistent leadership, and care regulations are often disregarded, according to the Irish Social Services Inspectorate (SSI).

Many key recommendations from the inspectorate’s first inspection in June 2001 have not been implemented and standards have dropped significantly in the interim, the inspectors found.