This Government is committed to supporting people with disabilities through the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (known as the UNCRPD).
The Health and Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is an independent statutory authority under the aegis of the Department of Health, which was established to drive continuous improvement in Ireland’s health and personal social care services, to monitor the quality of these services and promote person-centred care for the benefit of the public.
The Health Act 2007 provided for the establishment of HIQA, its inspection and regulation of designated centres and the framework for registration of these designated centres. Since November 2013, all designated centres for people with disabilities, both children and adults, must be registered with HIQA.
The Health Act 2007 (amended) and the associated regulations set out the framework for the regulation of designated centres for people with disabilities and include the requirements that providers must meet in order to ensure safe, good quality care and support to people with disabilities who live under their care.
HIQA engages directly with service providers to ensure compliance with the regulatory framework for designated centres for people with disabilities services, taking a graduated and proportionate response to areas requiring improvement. The Health Act 2007 (as amended) empowers the Chief Inspector, a statutory officer within the Authority, to carry out this function through the processes of registration, continual monitoring and inspection and, where necessary, the application of its powers of enforcement. HIQA carries out inspections to assess compliance with the Health Act 2007 (as amended), and relevant regulations.
However, HIQA states that ‘The Chief Inspector of Social Services does not have the statutory powers, or remit, to direct or approve the removal of a resident from a registered designated centre.
Under the Health Act 2007 and the associated regulations, the provider has responsibility for the safe and appropriate admission, discharge and transfer of residents, and for ensuring that the needs of residents can be met within the residential service. Providers must demonstrate they have the capacity to meet the assessed needs of the residents they support.
If a HIQA inspector finds that a residents’ needs are not being met, the inspector requires the provider to take action to address the situation. Any action the provider takes must respect the rights of the resident’.
