Hiqa urges action on child isolated in special care unit

Independent health inspectors have expressed concern at a child being confined to a locked section of a state-run special care unit on a continuous basis since April.

In their latest inspection of the €13m Ballydowd special care unit in Dublin, inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority found that the child was confined to the locked section of the unit where the child has access to a bedroom with en suite facilities and a small sitting room with two staff members present.

The inspectors recorded that the child attends the on-site school on a daily basis, but that the child is educated alone.