Hundreds Of Complaints Over Abuse Of Disabled People

February 2, 2010 by Infowars Ireland

HEALTH AUTHORITIES are investigating hundreds of complaints of mistreatment, abuse or lapses in care for people with disabilities in residential settings.

More than 500 complaints have been made over the past 2½ years, according to records seen by The Irish Times .

The most serious incidents include allegations of abuse or physical assault by staff at a number of residential centres.

At present, there are no mandatory care standards or independent inspections of disability services, unlike nursing homes for older people and residential centres for children in State care.

The Government rejected plans to put these measures in place on a statutory basis last year because of pressures on the public finances.

Officials privately say that it would have cost between €5 million and €10 million.

More than 8,000 adults and 400 children with intellectual disabilities are in full-time residential accommodation in settings ranging from large institutions to group homes. These voluntary organisations receive about €1.5 billion in State funding each year. While large numbers of complaints relate to lack of communication or concerns over accommodation standards, significant numbers relate to alleged incidents of abuse or mistreatment.

There is also concern at how some complaints have been handled. Families of people with disabilities who have made complaints say in some cases that care workers involved in mistreatment were relocated to different parts of the service, rather than being removed from the service altogether.

In one case in Dublin, a staff member who highlighted an incident involving a care worker who struck a disabled child a number of times left the facility because the care worker was later reinstated to the post.

Official records show that in one case of alleged physical assault at a centre for people with disabilities in Co Cork, a staff member was “removed from the area” where the resident was based, following an investigation by a complaints officer.

However, most records do not show the outcome of investigations. For example, at a care home in Co Mayo an allegation of abuse against a staff member was dealt with. While the care provider said it agreed to ensure standards of care would be improved, records do not show whether any staff member was disciplined. Read more…