Teen left in ‘sparse’ conditions at care unit for six months

A deeply troubled teen was left isolated for almost six months, in “sparse and confined” conditions at one of the country’s three special care units for young people.

The disclosure emerged during a Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) inspection at the Ballydowd centre in West Dublin.

The teen’s suffered the ordeal as the centre’s managers, according to the HIQA report, altered their definition of the confinement to avoid national guidelines.