“Serious gaps” in the provision of basic services at Galway’s John Paul Centre in Ballybane have been highlighted in a special inquiry undertaken by the Irish Human Rights Commission.
The report, published on Tuesday, reveals that residents are forced to live in overcrowded conditions with little access to speech and language therapy.
The report has been welcomed by the Parents’ Group, which has worked to highlight the inadequacies of disability services at a Galway care centre. It has commended the Irish Human Rights Commission for listening to them and hearing “the cries of adults without a voice”.
The centre, which was opened in 1980 to cater for children with intellectual disabilities, was found to have unsuitable facilities for those who have remained residents into adulthood. The report showed that the main concerns of the Parents’ Group, which requested the enquiry, was underfunding, overcrowding, inadequate staffing, lack of occupational and other activities and therapies, most notably speech and language therapy. The centre is run by the Brothers of Charity under a service agreement with the HSE.
Parents’ Group spokesperson PJ Murray of Galway says it is haunting to watch children at the centre grow into adults, without a meaningful programme, and consequently deteriorate and become self-destructive. “Everyone strives to find a place with the expertise to bring a child to full potential. An early assessment of needs, a correct diagnosis, and early intervention by a multi disciplinary team would have made the difference. Stimulation in the form of speech and language therapy, behavioural therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy would have made an improvement.”
Mr Murray said all must bear the consequences - both the front line staff of the John Paul II Centre and the aging parents.
The IHRC has made 41 recommendations which include: introduction of person-centred needs assessment for all people with disabilities; reflection of individual needs in service agreements between the HSE and service providers, and proper funding protocols put in place; increased speech and language and occupational therapy services at the John Paul Centre, and independent Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA ) inspections should start without delay.
The HSE has welcomed the report and has confirmed that it will strive to implement the recommendations as part of the continuous improvement programme already under way in this sector.
Local health manager with HSE West, Bernard Gloster, said: “To date over 20 service users have been accommodated in community settings, a further five service users are due to move to the community shortly, and plans are in place to relocate additional service users in the future. Capital funding of approximately €1.025 million was provided to carry out infrastructural improvements at the John Paul Centre, for example, this has enabled the service to provide every client at the centre with a single bedroom. Additional motor vehicles were also purchased together with specialist aids and appliances for the centre. Significant attention has also been paid to the development of practices which support both the service users and the staff.”
Anne Geraghty, acting chief executive of the Brothers of Charity Services Galway, said that the report specifically recommends that the 12 people in the centre, who have been on a waiting list for residential services for up to 12 years, should be immediately provided with a full time residential service, and that sufficient funding for respite should be ring-fenced to allow for at least a minimum service to continue to be available in the future. Ms Geraghty acknowledged that this was an important recommendation which the Brothers of Charity fully support.
