Social services have been criticised for leaving a vulnerable child separated from other young people almost continually for six months in a special care unit.
A new report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found the child spent significant amounts of time in a confined and sparse living environment at Ballydowd special care unit in Dublin.
In total, inspectors expressed concern over the inability of the unit to meet the complex needs of two children.
They were due to have been moved to more appropriate placements that would meet their therapeutic needs, but this was delayed for various reasons.
The practice of isolating one of the children was redefined by staff to avoid meeting standards for continuous separation. These guidelines state that the practice should be used for the least amount of time possible. This, inspectors said, was unacceptable and unsustainable.
On a more positive note, inspectors found that there was a marked improvement in the standard of care since the last round of inspections. The main areas of improvement were in management, the delivery of care to the children, and the overall presentation of the unit.
The management improvements were represented by the introduction of good systems of accountability and clear lines of responsibility. There was a clear link between the needs of the children outlined in their care plans and the direct work carried out by the staff team
In addition, the whole campus had been repainted and brought to a good overall standard.
Although the works being carried out in the unit were necessary and would benefit the children when completed, inspectors voiced concern that children living there had an unsatisfactory amount of living space that provided them with little privacy.
This also posed a safety concern for the unit as there was a minimum amount of space available to manage the environment in a situation of risk, inspectors said.
The purpose of Ballydowd is to provide secure residential accommodation for up to 10 boys and girls with serious emotional and behavioural difficulties, aged between 12 and 17 on admission, who are detained under a High Court Order for their safety and welfare.
This number was reduced from 12 following a review of the number of children the unit could safely care for.
More recently was further reduced to nine, due to building works being carried out in one of the two units that were operational.
