Concerns have been raised in regards the protection of residents at a designated centre for adults with disabilities in Donegal.
At the Dunwiley Centre, Stranorlar, it was found that an incident of alleged suspected abuse had not been suspected as a safeguarding concern.
HIQA carried out the follow up inspection to review actions required as identified in an inspection in February following concerns about the management of safeguarding concerns and overall governance and oversight of HSE centres in Donegal.
Improvements were found to be needed in some aspects of risk management, in ensuring that the procedures for the protection of residents and for the review of physical interventions were adhered to at all times.
Inspectors say the safeguarding procedure had not been followed with regard to one safeguarding concern between residents that occurred in August, and was recorded by staff on an incident reporting form.
The alleged suspected abuse had not been submitted to the Chief Inspector as it was not identified as a suspected safeguarding concern. One incident of bruising was not included on the relevant quarterly notification.
HIQA reports that this was also of concern due to two previous safeguarding concerns being screened by the person in charge and designated officer who concluded that there were no grounds for concerns for those incidents, yet the safeguarding and protection team did not agree and safeguarding plans subsequently had to be developed.
Meanwhile, concerns were also highlighted over residents’ rights at Teach Sona.
The centre in Donegal is governed by HSE services in Sligo/ Leitrim.
Inspectors say residents’ right to privacy was significantly impacted as CCTV cameras recorded private areas of the centre which residents had not been made aware of.
