Residents of Daughters of Charity Disability Support Services units in Dublin charged for ‘household items’

Residents in a Dublin centre for adults with disabilities were required to contribute toward the cost of household items such as kettles, toasters, televisions and curtains contrary to national legislation, an inspection found.

A Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) inspection carried out in June, found that 16 residents of three units operated by the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Services in Clonsilla, Dublin 15, were paying “accessories payments” for household equipment.

A policy instructed staff at the centre to “request a specified sum per resident each month” which should be used for any items required for each house, for example household items, small items of equipment, accessories, bedclothes and general items.

The payment was recorded in the residents’ accounts and if no household expenditure was needed the cash would instead be used by the resident.

However, in an inspection report published yesterday, Hiqa said that this “directly contradicted” legislation on patient private property accounts under the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006, which states that basic equipment, furnishings or personal supports should be covered under long-stay charges.

Policy reviewed

In a response the provider said it had reviewed its policy around payments for household accessories to comply with regulations.

During a previous inspection in March inspectors reported that residents were being charged to cover staff costs such as meals while on outings and holidays.

This issue was raised again during the June assessment with the inspector noting that these charges were not clearly stated in the residents’ contracts of care or clearly communicated to residents or their representatives.

However, the inspector noted that the provider was working on a proposal which committed to update policies to reflect greater transparency and judged that the proposed policy would significantly improve the financial management of residents’ funds and provide greater transparency.

The latest inspection found that privacy was being impinged upon due to checking on residents every 30 minutes despite evidence to suggest that this was not required for all residents.

The provider said it had reviewed the practice for all residents with changes brought about for the majority of residents although two individuals required to be checked more frequently due to medical needs.

Collective needs The March inspection had found that the three single-storey houses in which the residents were housed were over 30 years old and did not meet with the residents’ individual and collective needs.

During the June inspection Hiqa noted that some improvements had taken place. The inspector also reviewed a plan to refurbish the units and found that all non-compliances identified within the previous report were catered for and that, on completion, the residents would be provided with a safe environment, to meet their specific requirements.

Separately, the Irish Patients' Association (IPA) has expressed concern at the findings of analysis carried out by The Irish Times which found that just three of more than 190 centres for people with disabilities inspected by Hiqa to date were fully compliant with all regulations. Almost 20 per cent were deemed to have failed to fully comply with any of the regulations assessed.

Director of the IPA Stephen McMahon said questions needed to be asked about residents paying for staff costs such as meals to ensure that such “top-up” payments are not widespread within the sector.