Minister of State with responsibility for disability Anne Rabbitte is establishing a review into a pattern of “failures to the community” in facilities in the North West of the country in an area known as Community Healthcare Organisation One.
Ms Rabbitte told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that she did not have confidence in the service at present following two letters from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) to the Health Service Executive (HSE), which questioned the HSE's fitness to provide services to people with disabilities in the area.
The Minister said she had become aware of the concerns raised in the letter the week before Christmas, she had been very shocked at the contents of the letter from Hiqa, and she was taking the issue “very seriously.”
Of particular concern to her was the pattern emerging and the failure of management to work with other agencies and the failure to ask for help from an outside body.
Ms Rabbitte said that she was in discussions with the Minister for Health and Children as she was drawing up terms of reference for an independent review into what happened in the care settings.
There was a need to “get under the bonnet” and to understand the pattern of what happened and to address the failings of the service. This was necessary, so confidence could be re-established in the service.
'Deep dark web'
The failure to address the continuing pattern from 2003 should have set off alarm bells, she said.
The Minister said she has asked questions of the HSE and was awaiting a “specific” response about how a person had access to the “deep dark web” and how that person was being supported, to prevent such an incident happening again.
The terms of reference for the review will be specific and targeted to ensure that people within the service are safe. “I don’t have that confidence (in the service) at the moment.”
Ms Rabbitte said she was not aware if the families of other residents had been contacted about the situation, but she felt that they should.
The incident should be viewed through the lens of social care rather than medical care, she added.
The Minister said she hoped that the review will commence as soon as possible so that reassurance could be given to families, she was waiting for the Minister for Health to give approval for the review.
