HIQA raises concerns after resident at  disability centre absconded over wall into neighbour's garden

HIQA has published 21 inspection reports today.

HIQA has raised concerns over how a centre for people with disabilities dealt with the incoming transfer of a resident who climbed over a wall and into a neighbour's garden.

The health watchdog said "fortunately, no physical harm occurred" in the incident at the Tús Nua centre in Kilkenny, but the response to the issue by the operators of the facility was to erect a three-metre high wire mesh fence.

The Health Information and Quality Authority said the fence was "visually displeasing" and "appeared to have been erected with little or no consultation or regard to the dignity and rights of the resident who had lived in the house prior to the new resident moving in.

"It was also questionable if the fence was the most dignified way to address the safety situation for the resident, for whom it was erected."

That safety concern was due to a decision last March to transfer one resident to another centre, with a new resident coming in due to a situation at another centre, but HIQA said residents and front-line staff of Tús Nua had less than 24 hours’ notice of the transfers and "the risk that the new resident would abscond was poorly communicated".

The HIQA inspection report found evidence of good practice at the centre, home to three residents at the time and operated by the Saint Patrick's Centre (Kilkenny).

However, there were also some issues, including frequent management changes and governance issues.

According to the report: "Since the May 2018 inspection, five different persons in charge and six different line managers to the person in charge, had roles in this centre. Such a turnover of key personnel not only affected the quality and continuity of care afforded to residents, it also raised concerns about the provider’s capacity to secure and maintain proper oversight of the centre."

There was a similar issue at the Ballard House centre operated by RehabCare in Co Offaly.

The four residents gave positive feedback about living there but HIQA said: "The person in charge had changed three times in recent months and another change was due to occur post-inspection. This had contributed to an inconsistent management structure and inconsistent service provision at times as detailed in other sections of the report. One resident communicated they were nervous about new managers and didn't like the changes."

HIQA also noted that residents' finances were stored in a locked press in the staff office. "Residents did not have free access to keys for this press and staff and management communicated with the inspector that one resident was given a set amount of money per day and was not allowed to spend more than this," it said.

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