A home for the disabled has been closed down after a damning report by the health watchdog, it was revealed yesterday.
Inspectors who made a series of unannounced visits last year had very serious concerns about residents’ safety and quality of life at the St Raphael’s campus in Co Kildare.
During one inspection at the Celbridge facility, one resident was found wearing a shoe on one foot and a trainer on the other as staff had not taken the time to dress them properly before an outing.
HIQA discovered “institutional practices, poor outcomes for residents and areas of risk to residents relating to safeguarding and health and safety”.
It emerged yesterday St John of God Services, which runs the facility, has closed the residential centre for people with disabilities and moved residents from two others following the Health Information and Quality Authority report.
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All are on the campus in Celbridge, Co Kildare, which is home to 137 people with intellectual disabilities.
When inspectors visited one of the centres on the campus last summer they found it began getting its 19 residents ready for bed at 7pm with staff explaining this was necessary as their numbers were reduced to three at 9pm.
There is also an account of an incident where a resident was found with head injuries that needed hospital treatment but this was not reported to HIQA.
The report also revealed agreed action plans were not being implemented to ensure regulatory compliance and this was contributing to negative outcomes.
HIQA issued a number of immediate actions, sent warning letters and held regulatory and escalation meetings with the service provider and management.
St John of God Community Service said it fully accepts the improvements required by the watchdog, claiming “corrective action plans” have been submitted.
