Minister to be quizzed on Western Care

QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED Sinn Féin TD, Rose Conway-Walsh.

Edwin McGreal

Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh has submitted two questions to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly in relation to the ongoing scandal at Western Care. She will also meet with health watchdog HIQA later this month.
There has been a lot of upheaval at the organisation in recent months with HIQA investigating concerns, particularly around the Individualised Services section of Western Care.
Internal and external reviews have been ongoing in Western Care since November and last Thursday staff at the organisation were updated on the ‘initial outcome of the Management Structural Review which is ongoing’ (see below).
However, Deputy Conway-Walsh expressed concerns over the extent of the current investigations, reiterating calls she made in November for a full independent investigation.
“I welcome the changes introduced by the Interim CEO, Dr Aoife O’Donoghue,” she told The Mayo News. “I accept those changes as recognition that there are serious issues that need to be addressed. I hope they will begin a journey of better outcomes for the people supported by Western Care, their families and the staff who work on the front line.
“Many questions remained unanswered in relation to the culture and governance of the organisation. The requirement for an independent and transparent investigation remains. I am meeting with HIQA later this month to discuss the information that has been given to me from all over Mayo,” she added.
She has submitted two questions to Minister Donnelly. The first one concerns how decisions are made in relation to whether a residential service should be registered with HIQA or not. At least five unregulated Individualised Services in Western Care have been deemed by HIQA to require registration with them. Deputy Conway-Walsh asks the following question:  
“To ask the Minister for Health if he will consider introducing legislative changes to the Health Act 2007 to codify a definition of residential service to ensure that all individualised services are required to be registered with HIQA in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.”
The second question relates to protected disclosures, of which several have been submitted by current and former Western Care employees.
“To ask the Minister for Health to outline the procedure for dealing with protected disclosures in relation to third party organisations funded by the HSE under Section 39 of the Health Act, 2004 and the procedure for initiating investigations when deemed necessary; and if he will make a statement on the matter.”

HSE response
Meanwhile in response to a number of questions from The Mayo News, the HSE has detailed its involvement in the ongoing review at Western Care.
“The HSE has agreed scope of a Service Improvement Framework with the Western Care Association focus on promoting the highest standards of governance within Western Care so it delivers safe and effective services to people throughout Mayo,” they stated.
In response to questions about unregulated services in Western Care’s Individualised Services section and what level of oversight the HSE have in this regard, the HSE said they have ‘a service arrangement’ in place where ‘all service activities are monitored’ and that the HSE ‘do monitor the quality and safety of services through this process’.
They added that when it came to whether or not a service should be regulated with HIQA or not, they said such determinations were a matter for ‘the service provider (Western Care) in line with HIQA guidance’.
When asked if the HSE are confident if steps taken in the ongoing review will address the concerns of families, staff, HIQA, elected representatives and the HSE, the HSE said they ‘are confident the Service Improvement Framework being implemented will assist in promoting a commitment to continuous service improvement which is firmly orientated towards quality, safety and to improve service user experience and outcomes’.
When asked if the level of oversight the HSE has over Western Care will change, the HSE said they will ‘continue to monitor services commissioned through Western Care via the service arrangement process’ and that the Service Improvement Framework ‘will further enhance oversight arrangements both within Western Care and from a HSE perspective’.
In response to questions, HIQA said they are ‘currently engaged with the provider and will be making no further comment until that engagement has been completed’.