Care homes did not have effective systems in place to safeguard residents from abuse, Hiqa finds

The report, published on Thursday, includes findings from 34 inspections carried out across 28 centres operated by Sunbeam House Services in 2024. File picture: Sam Boal

A registered provider of designated centres for people with disabilities did not have effective governance and management systems in place to safeguard residents in its care from abuse, a new report has found.

Sunbeam House Services, which runs 27 residential homes for people with disabilities on behalf of the HSE, is the subject of a damning new report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).

The report, published on Thursday, includes findings from 34 inspections carried out across 28 centres operated by Sunbeam House Services in 2024.

In 23 of these inspections, Hiqa found non-compliance which, it said, posed "a significant risk to residents’ safety, wellbeing and overall quality of life".

For its report, Hiqa's inspectors met with residents, their family members, staff, senior management, and the provider’s board of directors.

At eight centres, residents told Hiqa that they did not feel safe, and wished to move out of their homes due to the "continuing risk of aggressive and upsetting behaviours from other residents".

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At one centre, inspectors found that the flush button on a toilet had been removed to prevent a resident from flushing it after use. 

In another, it was noted that a resident was only allowed to go for a walk on their own “for a very short time” and given a “very limited amount of their own money to spend each day", restrictive practices for which Hiqa found "no rationale".

The report says that, in certain cases, these restrictive practices "could be viewed as institutional abuse".

Overall, Hiqa said management structures within Sunbeam House Services were "not effective in ensuring good quality support for residents and in identifying and responding when issues arise that impact on the safety and quality of life of residents".

Hiqa's report was also critical of Sunbeam House Services' board, the oversight of which, it said, was disconnected from "what was happening in designated centres."

In response, Sunbeam House Services submitted a compliance improvement plan outlining how it intends to strengthen oversight of centres, and to improve the lived experience of its residents.

Hiqa said its chief inspector would be monitoring the implementation of this plan to verify whether the actions taken are implemented and are effective.