Irish government doesn't have funds to implement care standards for disability services

From The Irish Times:

The government has said it does not have the funds to fully implement long promised care standards for an estimated 28,000 disabled people in residential care.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) yesterday formally launched national quality standards which set out what people with disabilities can expect from their service.

At present there are no standards or independent inspections of disability services, despite the sector receiving about €1 billion in State funding each year.

Minister of State with responsibility for disability John Moloney said yesterday the new standards will not be implemented on a statutory basis due to pressures on public finance.

Officials privately estimate that it would cost in the region of €10 million to implement the standards on a statutory basis and provide for a total of about 50 independent inspectors.

However, Mr Moloney said: “Given the current fiscal situation, it was not proposed to move to full statutory implementation of the standards, including regulation and inspection, at this time.”

The Minister added there would be further discussions between his office and the HSE about how best to introduce, within available resources, some form of “external monitoring” of the quality of residential services. Inclusion Ireland, an umbrella group representing people with intellectual disabilities, welcomed the new standards but said the failure to place them on a statutory footing means poor services will continue to operate.

For example, an estimated 3,000 people with disabilities are living in out-dated institutional care, while pilot studies in the past have indicated that an alarming number of disability services are not providing adequate care.

Dr Marion Witton, chief inspector of social services with Hiqa, called on disability service providers to begin introducing the standards immediately.

The Health Service Executive, which funds most residential services, says it is in talks with services over new agreements which would oblige them to begin introducing the standards.

“The initial focus will be on improving standards of quality and care within current resources and existing physical infrastructure,” the HSE said, in a statement.

“These documents emphasise the responsibilities of service providers in relation to quality and risk management.”

Dr Witton said these moves were an “important first step” towards enabling people with disabilities to live in a safe, caring and respectful environment.

The standards published yesterday are grouped under seven areas, addressing quality of life; staffing; protection; development; health; rights; physical environment; governance and management. The standards are similar to those introduced recently for nursing homes, although they are less prescriptive in areas such as, for example, requirements for minimum bedroom sizes. Dr Witton said the standards, which were developed with the assistance of people with disabilities, services providers and Government officials, promote a vision for how residential services should be provided in the future.

“They embody the principles of enablement and possibility, they focus on what people with disabilities can do, when provided with the right support.

Their publication today is a significant milestone for disability services in Ireland,” she said.