HSE to form resident’s council in Áras Attracta

HSE to form resident’s council in Áras Attracta


Anton McNulty

The HSE are to form a residents’ council in Áras Attracta to deal with the welfare concerns of residents following another critical report into the Swinford residential home.
Four months after the standards of care in Áras Attracta were heavily criticised by a undercover Prime Time investigation, the residential home was again criticised following an unannounced HIQA inspection.
The new report which was made following an unannounced visit to Áras Attracta in January, revealed that there remains ongoing problems with the standard of care at the facility.
In response to HIQA’s report, the HSE stated they have implemented the recommendations arising from January’s inspection and an improvement and development programme is underway in Aras Attracta.
This includes the establishment of a new governance structure led by a new Director of Service. Under the leadership of the new Director, three distinct centres will operate within the campus, headed by a new person in charge responsible in each centre.
The HSE also stated that the first residents’ council is being established in Áras Attracta, which they say will play an important part in the advocacy support for residents and families.

Independently chaired
“The council will be independently chaired by a family member and will concern themselves with the welfare of residents and will seek to protect residents’ rights and to enable them to participate in matters that affect their daily lives,” the HSE statement said.
The HIQA visit came a month after the RTÉ Prime Time investigation programme revealed incidences of residents being force-fed, slapped, kicked and shouted at in the residential home which caters for people with intellectual disabilities.
The new HIQA report contains largely negative findings for Centre Two, which includes Bungalow Three, the home which features in the Prime Time programme.
It states that while procedures were in place to protect residents from being harmed or suffering abuse, they had not been consistently implemented in all areas of the centre.
The report found use of medication to mitigate staff issues, a lack of phone access and unclean premises. It also found unsafe medication practices and said significant improvements were needed in relation to risk management, fire safety and infection control.
The HIQA inspections in Áras Attracta took place from January 11 to 14 last. On the first day of inspection, inspectors accessed different areas of the centre at around 8.20pm without meeting any staff members.
Inspectors found that some staff did not interact with residents in an appropriate manner when responding to challenging behaviour. HIQA found evidence that some medication had not been administered as prescribed. An inspector intervened on two occasions, in a short period, to prevent a near-miss occurrence.
In relation to Centre Three, HIQA recorded no non-compliance major judgments. The bungalows here were found to be warm, clean and comfortable and staff interacted well with residents.
Inspectors found that some staff did not demonstrate appropriate awareness of the way in which to engage with residents in a respectful manner.