Measures at special care centre may impact on children’s rights

Security measures in place at a special care home in west Dublin may impact on the rights of the children staying there, according to a report.

While the number of restrictive practices at Ballydowd special care centre has fallen since a previous inspection, some lasted for long periods of time, the Health Information and Quality Authority found.

“This was not in line with the statement of purpose which stated children should not be separated for more than 30 minutes,” the report from Hiqa states.

There were 18 incidents of children missing from the special care centre over the year. Gardai attended seven behaviour incidents for two children over the year, including a bomb threat and considerable property damage.

In other incidents, a child who was at risk of self harm acquired a pair of scissors, while another went to a woodwork class and used a tool to destroy property.

Inspectors found there had been 40 incidents of physical intervention with the children in the previous year, involving 11 of 23 children.

Five children had a physical intervention once, three on two occasions, one on four occasions, one six occasions and one on nine occasions.

While most of the interventions were short - less than a few minutes - one last 55 minutes and another 70 minutes.

Among the security practices highlighted in the report were routine and random searches that took place without any specific concern and the routine use of a metal detector during body searches when children came back from unsupervised activities.

Previous Hiqa reports were critical of the isolation of children at Ballydowd, which is now run by the Child and Family Agency.

1 out of 7 standards met

Ballydowd provides secure residential accommodation for up to 10 boys and girls with serious emotional and behavioural difficulties, aged between 11 and 17 years, who are detained under a High Court order for their safety and welfare.

Hiqa found that of the seven standards it assessed, the centre met one and required improvement in six. In general, inspectors found that children were well cared for with child protection concerns managed appropriately. “Overall, the key rights of children were respected but some of the security measures in place had the potential to adversely impact on the child’s rights and required review.”

There were 45 incidents of single separation over the year, most of them over 30 minutes and one lasting over eight hours. Separation took place in a bare room, with no mattress or bed linen, the window cracked and some of the paint missing.

Toilets arrangements were inadequate and on one occasion a child was given a carton when she or he wanted to go to the toilet.

It says providing a nutritious and varied diet continued to be a challenge for the centre. Food, while plentiful, was sometimes poorly presented. Children expressed dissatisfaction with food choices.