HSE childcare centre should close, urges report

HEALTH inspectors have called for the closure of a centre for vulnerable children run by the Health Service Executive (HSE) following reports of serious violent assaults on both residents and staff.

At least 44 incidents of violence and aggression were recorded at the centre between March and May this year.

The Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) has published a damning report about the standards of care provided to children at the unnamed HSE-run centre in south Dublin.

The SSI has now recommended its closure and asked the HSE to find suitable alternative placements for the young people in care there as they were living “in an emotionally impoverished and unpredictable environment”.

It sharply criticised the HSE for failing to respond to concerns about the centre expressed by various people over a prolonged period.

Records shows that there were eight serious physical assaults between residents in the first five months of 2006, while other attacks were on staff.

Inspectors believe there could have been many other incidents not recorded due to poor record-keeping.

In one incident, a young boy’s head was repeatedly hit off a kitchen press by an older boy. On another occasion, care workers and some children locked themselves into the bathroom of the centre to protect themselves from one of the residents.

They also discovered several instances where staff members had refused to co-operate with the manager of the centre. In one instance, a medical programme for one child was not implemented due to a refusal by staff to get up at night to assist him.

One local school principal also voiced concern that one of the children sometimes did not have any lunch and could only refer to staff members as his “minders”, rather than by their name.

Inspectors also found one child was confined to his bedroom by care workers holding the door closed, although no formal record was made of the incident.

The SSI report found a HSE childcare manager was not notified about the risk of violence at the centre or details of the actual assaults even though gardaí were often called to the centre.

“There was little evidence to suggest that the care staff had the capacity to ensure the safety of the young people in their care,” concludes the report.

The SSI received four separate complaints from seven different individuals including agency workers employed at the centre. They expressed serious concern about the safety of children at the centre which at the time provided care to three boys aged 10-13.

SSI officials who carried out a three-day inspection of the centre this summer noted two of the young people had threatened to kill themselves.

Staff at the centre said there was no strategy in place to prevent or manage such behaviour.

One new employee had resigned their position after just one shift because of fears of violence and aggression, according to the SSI.

A HSE spokesperson contacted yesterday said she was not in a position to discuss details of the SSI report.