St John of God centres HIQA was required to visit again and again
Inspections show that some facilities failed to implement upgrades urged by inspectors
ONE third of the centres for the intellectually disabled run by St John of God that were inspected by HIQA needed at least two inspections before being found to be of an acceptable standard.
An analysis of 106 inspection reports written by HIQA inspectors over a two-year period shows 49 of these inspections were spread across just 20 centres.
In two instances, centres were eventually shut down after HIQA found continuing problems.
The reports cover centres in seven counties, and while in some areas inspectors found very high standards of care, one unit was inspected six times with very little change from the first to the last check-up, while another still showed serious failings on a fifth visit.
The revelations will call into question the role of national executives for the charity, when some centres were able to function to an acceptable standard while others struggled to respond to HIQA recommendations.
This follows revelations by the Irish Mail on Sunday last Sunday that €23,000 was spent on a trip for four senior managers and two Brothers to Florida. On Monday the charity rowed back on removing services for teens with intellectual disabilities at a Dublin school.
The HIQA reports show a lack of consistency across the organisation, with some centres unable to offer a good standard of care in spite of detailed direction. This contrasts with other centres which met the standard on their visit inspection. In all, 60 St John of God centres have been inspected so far. Some reports show staff complaints not being listened to, and many note managerial oversight is not strong at the worst offending centres.
A St John of God spokesman said: ‘Many of our services have achieved high levels of compliance. Achieving compliance at some of our campus-based services has been more challenging. With the support of the HSE we will continue to address and respond to meeting the requirements of the regulations.’
Some of the St John of God centres are arranged like a campus with a number of units spread across the grounds. HIQA inspectors tend to examine these separately, as each may be home to people with different challenges. This is not unique to St John of God.
One centre, closed down following a series of inspections, generated at least 10 reports; one unit on the St Raphael’s campus received six inspections.
This unit was first inspected on March 4, 2015 and was found noncompliant on all 11 of the 11 standards examined. Inspectors found exposed wiring in some bedrooms with the only response to move one patient’s bed away from the wires.
In September it was visited again, but failed on 11 of 12 headings.
In all of the reports on this centre, the inspectors noted that poor management and oversight were visible. They noted in some centres that staff had raised concerns but they were not listened to.
Staff shortages were a problem. One resident was regularly left strapped into a chair for entire evenings, and in other units on this campus other reports showed residents walking around half-naked.
In spite of the detailed advice in HIQA reports on what needed to be fixed, the watchdog ultimately issued a ‘Proposal to Cancel’ to the whole centre. St John of God committed to closing the centres.
A spokesman said yesterday that HIQA had not closed the centres, that the closure had come about as part of a reconfiguration process.
Another centre in Dublin was visited four times after HIQA got ‘tip-offs’ from people and was then more fully inspected on 16 standards of care in July 2015. In spite of warnings and an investigation into a patient’s complaint, they found the centre missed the standard in 13 of 16 concerns.
In contrast, one Kerry centre was inspected on seven issues and met the standard on five.
Lack of consistency across organisation One centre generated at least 10 reports