HSE-run disability centres criticised by health watchdog

A number of HSE-run centres for people with disabilities have been criticised by health watchdog Hiqa, including one where a broken heater that had previously resulted in residents moving to emergency accommodation was still malfunctioning during the inspection.

The issues are disclosed in some of the 27 separate inspection reports published yesterday by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), with problems also uncovered in some centres run by the Cope Foundation in Cork, among others.

A total of 37 failings had been identified at the HSE-run Upper Woodlands Close in Sligo during a previous inspection and problems persisted in the latest Hiqa report.