HSE hits back at Hiqa report on ‘hospital-like’ care centre

The HSE has hit back at Hiqa over a critical report issued by the health watchdog on a centre for older people in Co Clare.

The HSE has also written to the county’s elected representatives to reassure them about standards of care at St Joseph’s Hospital which was the subject of a legal wrangle last month between the health executive and the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).

Hiqa had published, last Friday, an inspection report on St Joseph’s highlighting areas of non-compliance with recognised standards and referring to aspects of the facility as “institutional” and “hospital-like”. The inspection was conducted in August 2016.