Oberstown contains ‘significant’ fire safety risks, Hiqa finds

Significant fire safety risks, staff shortages and the unsafe administration of medication were among the failings found at the State's child detention centre, Oberstown, when it was inspected by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) over four days in November 2015.

The centre is funded by the Department of Children and managed by a board in compliance with regulations laid down by the Department of Justice through the Irish Youth Justice Service.

The inspection was pre-announced and assessed the centre against 10 standards, including those for children’s rights, child protection, premises safety, education and health.

None of the standards were exceeded, one was met, seven required improvement and significant risks were identified in two - staffing and management and premises safety, according to a report on the inspection.

The report said that “significant risks were found in relation to fire safety”, while concerns were raised about day-to-day management and staff shortages, which undermined the effectiveness of interventions with the children.

The report also said: “Some medication administration practices were unsafe, despite guidance from a GP, and required improvement.”

The report noted there were difficulties managing some of the children’s behaviour.

It said there was often nowhere to release the children to at the end of their detention, even when they were still in State care. Some had to be advised to contact homelessness services.

The Oberstown campus, which consists of residences and three schools in north county Dublin, provides care and detention for boys up to the age of 17 and girls up to age of 18 who have been convicted of criminal offences or remanded in custody awaiting trial.

During the time of the November inspection there were 47 boys and one girl detained on the campus.

Children in detention “require a high-quality service that is safe and helps them address their behaviour”, the report said.

“Staff members must be able to provide them nurturing relationship in order for children to achieve positive outcome. Services must be well governed in order to produce these outcomes consistently.”

Improvements

The reports pointed to improvements at Oberstown in some areas, including the promotion of children’s rights and the roll-out of a new system to help staff achieve consistency in meeting the children’s needs.

Inspectors also observed “warm, appropriate and respectful interactions between staff and children”.

The report said children at the centre enjoyed leisure activities including football, tennis, gym, cooking and music.

However, the report said that while most of the children’s bedrooms had necessary fire-safety facilities, two did not.

These bedrooms lacked “any adequate smoke control system”, possibly because they had been used for purposes other than bedrooms in the past.

The campus manager had agreed to move these children to other bedrooms until the issue was rectified.

The report also noted concerns that fire safety checks were not completed on a regular basis.

“Day-to-day management oversight within the units was not robust,” the report said.

Although a new head of support and development had been appointed at the centre within the last 24 months, unit managers told Hiqa that “they had difficulty carrying out their role due to the demands within their respective units and staffing issues”.

Staff said it was difficult to build relationships with the children “due to staffing shortages”.

The report said: “This was one of the most important aspects of their role and could undermine the effectiveness of their role and could undermine the effectiveness of their interventions with children.”