Health inspectors criticise child restraints at facility

THE growing use of physical restraints to control extremely disturbed children at a special care facility in North Dublin has been criticised by health inspectors.

The Social Services Inspectorate has expressed serious concern that the rights of some of the children have frequently been infringed at a high support unit at Crannóg Nua in Portrane, Co Dublin.

Six young people were physically restrained on 111 separate occasions between January and June this year.

SSI inspectors said there had also been 100 other incidents over the same period where their liberty had been restricted as a means of managing behaviour.

They reported that physical restraints, while necessary to manage children at serious risk to themselves and others, were being used routinely by Crannóg Nua staff to control behaviour.

The young residents were also regularly detained in locked areas of the facility which is operated by the Health Services Executive Northern Area. “Some of the practice was unsafe and resulted in injuries to young people,” the official inspection report states. SSI officials visited Crannóg Nua over a four-day period last June. It was the third inspection of the unit in less than two years.

The multi-million euro purpose-built centre for highly troubled children has been dogged by operational problems since it opened in August 2002.

It comprises three eight-bed residential units, although the centre has operated far below capacity since its opening due to difficulties in recruiting qualified residential care staff despite several advertising campaigns in Ireland, Britain, Europe and Canada.

The inspectors claim there was also a significant number of unauthorised absences ranging from one hour up to almost a week by four young people, despite the use of restraints. They noted that the same problem had been highlighted in earlier reports about Crannóg Nua.

Inspectors also expressed concern that a monitoring officer had not been informed by the centre’s management of certain episodes, such as allegations against staff, as required.

They discovered that claims of abuse and mistreatment by care workers were investigated internally, contrary to national guidelines on child protection and welfare.

Children interviewed by SSI officers described the care regime at Crannóg Nua as “oppressive.”

They regarded the use of restraints as a form of punishment.

“Inspectors found that young people had concerns that they were not listened to and had little influence over the matters that affected their daily life,” states the report. On a more positive note, inspectors said they found many elements of a good quality of service at Crannóg Nua. “The standard of primary care was good. The material condition of the unit and the standard of accommodation were maintained to a high standard.”

Inspectors also acknowledged that many aspects of the service provided at Crannóg Nua had improved since the previous inspection, including the retention of trained staff.

A HSE spokesperson said many of the report’s recommendations had already been implemented, while outstanding issues were currently being addressed.