Hiqa: Staff levels impede care needs at facilities for disabled

Staffing levels have been highlighted as a major issue at a number of HSE-operated facilities for people with a disability.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found a lack of staff, and, in some cases, an over-reliance on agency workers, is inhibiting the quality of life of residents.

A batch of inspection reports published by the health watchdog did note improvements in many facilities, but revealed that in one inspection, that of the HSE Glendalough Service, there were 17 agency staff allocated in the centre in one week.

“The inspector was advised of a staff meeting that was held due to staffing concerns,” the report read.

“The inspector also found that supervision was not in place for all staff and this reflected the requirement for the management meeting due to the lack of consultation with staff.”

At the Railway View & Finnside HSE facility in Donegal, inspectors found major noncompliance in four outcomes relating to risk management, safeguarding of residents, the centre’s governance and management arrangements and workforce.

The report reads: “Although residents’ needs were being met, the staffing planned and actual staffing levels in the centre were not enough to meet the needs of the residents.”

At the HSE-run Earrach Services in Sligo, inspectors noted that there was one vehicle allocated to the centre which did not adequately meet the needs of the 12 residents, and the inspector spoke with the provider on the day of inspection regarding the concerns about the inconsistent staffing.

“A review of daily records identified that there continued to be a lack of staffing support provided to residents to enable them to engage in social opportunities,” the report read.

At HSE-run Realta Services, also in Sligo, Hiqa said the facility was overdue in implementing recommendations from a previous inspection, while at Rosenheim Services, another HSE facility in Sligo, “the lack of staff support at weekends meant residents did not have the same opportunities for social engagement”.

Similarly, at Rosses View, another HSE-run facility in Sligo: “While the provider had made some improvements since the last inspection in September 2016, inspectors found little progress had been made to ensure adequate staffing arrangements were provided to meet the assessed social care needs of residents.”

At Dunwiley and Cloghan, a HSE centre in Donegal, “the inspector found a high reliance on temporary staff; for example, over one 14-day period in March 2017, 10 temporary staff were used on 19 separate occasions.”

An inspection of the HSE Cork centre at Youghal Community Hostels found “significant improvement” since previous inspections, although it noted that improvement was required to protect residents from injury and harm by their peers due to an “incompatible age mix of residents living in the centre, the high number of residents living in the centre and the lack of communal space in the centre”.

It also noted a recent escalation in the number of incidents: “There had been four incidents involving behaviours of concern in the weekend prior to this inspection. Residents told the inspector that they were not happy with this situation.”

It also referred to defects in the design and layout of the centre.