Áras Attracta ultimatum 'a damning indictment of HSE' - senator

SPEAKING after the release of a HIQA report monitoring the HSE three-year improvement plan for the Áras Attracta residential campus in Swinford, Sinn Féin Senator Rose Conway-Walsh has said there are still a myriad of serious issues which need to be rectified.

The Erris-based representative said: “Following on from the shocking revelations of the RTÉ Primetime Investigation into the Áras Attracta residential campus the Health Service Executive (HSE) presented a three-year improvement plan to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) for Áras Attracta.

“At that time the HIQA stated that the implementation of their three-year improvement programme would be monitored, and should the actions not result in an improvement for residents, further regulatory action would be taken.

“Throughout the period of the improvement plan HIQA said they had seen evidence of a range of actions being initiated and significant additional resources being allocated across the three centres. However, quite worryingly the Chief Inspector found limited progress and improvement overall on the campus.

“Through their inspections HIQA found that the HSE was consistently failing to appropriately address the institutional model of care, centralised care practices, safeguarding issues and lack of opportunities for residents’ personal development and growth on the campus.

“The reported issues included a damning litany of failures; the failure to improve the lives of all 86 residents living on the campus, the failure to implement action plans within the required timelines, the failure to implement and adhere to the HSE’s own national safeguarding policy, and the failure to respond to a significant number of occurrences and reports of alleged abuse between residents, amongst many others.

“Furthermore, the HIQA highlighted how most residents continued to experience an institutional model of care, with centralised practices and limited or no opportunities for personal development and growth.

“The result being that on 28 September 2017, the Office of Chief Inspector of Social Services issued the HSE with notices of HIQA’s proposed decision to cancel the registration of all three Áras Attracta centres.

“The HSE have made written representations to HIQA setting out the actions that are now being taken to ensure that the care and support to residents in the Áras Attracta is improved. These representations have been given consideration by HIQA, but the HSE and the Áras Attracta campus tethering on the edge. If these actions are not effective in making life better for residents who live in Áras Attracta then registration may be finally cancelled by February 2018.

“It is a damning indictment of the HSE that in three years of implementing an improvement plant that they have failed to rectify a range of serious issues at the Áras Attracta campus and have put extremely vulnerable patients at risk.

“The HSE have three months to show serious improvements and improve the lives of those vulnerable people receiving care at Áras Attracta, and they need to grasp the opportunity with both hands.