Residential care home closed - Bravo Hiqa

MAYBE it’s because we have too easily tolerated light-touch regulation for generations that the litany of negative Hiqa reports on residential homes for those with intellectual disabilities is making such an impact.

It almost seems as if a series of scandals are being uncovered but that may be because pro-active inspections are such a novel feature in this sector.

Even so it was reassuring to see that Hiqa decided to act with such urgency in the case of St Patrick’s Centre in Kilkenny. Irish regulators have been culturally reluctant to resort to the courts but Hiqa won an order in the district court in Kilkenny last Friday which led to a unit at St Patrick’s being deregistered, effectively condemned as not fit for purpose because of inadequate fire safety measures.

Though the families of residents might be immediately distressed, it must, in the longer term, be reassuring to know there is at last an authority with the teeth, and a willingness to use them, ensuring that services are up to scratch and residents of these homes are treated with care and respect.