Move to appoint new CEO at Mayo's Western Care Association

The Western Care Association is seeking to appoint a new chief executive officer.

The organisation has invited applications for the post.

The closing date is Friday, September 23, at 12 noon.

The successful applicant will be expected to provide effective leadership and stewardship to the association which delivers services and supports to over 850 children and adults with intellectual and associated difficulties and their families throughout Mayo.

In a report published in July, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) inspectors found the safety and wellbeing of intellectually disabled people at centres run by the association were at risk because the provider did not have adequate oversight.

The findings followed inspections that were carried out on centres in Mayo in response to contacts made to HIQA's Concerns Helpdesk last year, relating to "the deteriorating quality" of service.

Sixteen centres were examined between November 2022 and February 2023 and "a concerning deterioration" in the level of compliance was discovered.

This led HIQA's chief inspector to request inspections of the remaining centres over a two-week period.

The report published in July set out the overall findings of the inspection programme undertaken since November 2022 and the outcomes of the inspections undertaken over the course of two weeks in March 2023.

Between 13 and 21 March 2023, inspectors met with 54 residents and 74 staff members, including persons in charge. They also spoke with middle and senior management in Western Care Association.

Overall, inspectors found that in each residential centre, persons in charge and staff were committed to meeting the needs of residents and engaged with residents in a respectful and kind manner.

However they also found that the provider had "inadequate oversight and support arrangements" for persons in charge and staff and this was having "a negative impact" on the provider’s ability to deliver consistent, good quality support to people with disabilities who lived in the centres.

When it came to safeguarding, inspectors found that although staff had a good understanding of what constituted a safeguarding concern, gaps in the provider's safeguarding arrangements increased the risk that there would not be an appropriate and timely response to issues that may arise.

While significant instances of abuse were not identified, there were situations where the actions of some residents were impacting on the safety and quality of life of other residents through peer-to-peer interactions.