Child with disability spent 368 days in hospital when they didn't need to

Dr Niall Muldoon said a child’s right to grow up within their family is protected by the Constitution. Picture: Maxwells.

Parents of children with complex disabilities are being left with no option but to leave their children in hospitals, residential centres and special schools for weeks and even months because they can’t get the supports and services they need to care for them at home.

That is according to a damning new report, 'Nowhere to Turn'  by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. It also slams the Health Service Executive for not acting on recommendations made almost three years ago in the case of a young boy, known only as Jack, who had to stay in hospital for two years longer than was medically required.

The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, said: "In the most extreme cases, hospital staff told us about three children who spent 368, 205 and 107 days respectively in hospital when they didn’t need to be there.” 

He said a child’s right to grow up within their family is protected by the Constitution, and the UN’s Conventions on the Rights of the Child, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Jack's case was investigated by the office in 2020.

The young boy had sustained profound disabilities following a car accident when he was eight years old, according to the report.

It says that following the investigation into his case, recommendations were made to the HSE to ensure no other child would go through the same situation. 

“However despite accepting, and committing to taking these on, the HSE has still failed to implement key strategic recommendations from the Jack investigation," the report says.

The OCO said the recommendations included: developing an assessment process to determine the needs of the child; providing a specific support package for them; and ensuring there is ring-fenced funding for these services.

The OCO added: “We also asked the HSE to ensure they have a range of placement options for medium and long term if children cannot return home. Nearly three years on, the OCO continues to receive complaints from parents of children who, like Jack, due to a lack of strategic planning, are stuck in the wrong setting for too long or left without the right support.” 

Dr Muldoon added: “While Jack is now doing well, the failure of the HSE to fully implement our recommendations, means that other children and their families are still not receiving the appropriate supports and services they need.

The HSE has been contacted for comment.