Hiqa: Kids in care unit put selves at risk

One of the country’s three special care units for children has been found to have a range of deficiencies and inadequate resourcing of its management structure, with Hiqa finding not all children living there were safe.

The inspection of Coovagh House by the watchdog found six instances of major non-compliance with standards and 15 of moderate non-compliance, with the Health Information and Quality Authority expressing concerns about teenagers absconding and placing themselves in danger.

A Hiqa inspection of another unit, Glenn Alainn, also found some shortcomings and Tusla said it would decide whether Gleann Alainn would continue to operate as a special care facility by the end of the year.