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Woman had to delay starting family because of being pricked by a needle at work

Adina Denisa Cozan settled a €38,000 claim for damages against her employers.

A 36-YEAR-OLD woman claimed in the Circuit Civil Court today she had to delay trying to start a family because of a needle stick injury as doctors advised her not to have unprotected sex for six months.

Adina Denisa Cozan settled a €38,000 claim for damages against her employers Sunshine Professional Cleaning Services Ltd and Thunders Bakery Ltd, owner of Thunders Bakery in Phibsboro, Dublin, where the incident occurred.

Cozan, of Portobello Harbour, Dublin, claimed that in September 2013, she had reached up to clean a windowsill in an office when her left middle finger was pricked by a needle.

She had been taken to the Mater Hospital in Dublin where she received needle stick injury treatment. She had needed to come back several times and had been worried she could have contracted AIDS until final blood tests revealed she had not been infected.

Cozan claimed she had felt angry and frustrated because at the time she had been hoping to become pregnant, but had to delay trying for a child after being advised by doctors not to have unprotected sex for six months.

She claimed she was left traumatised by the injury and later developed anxiety and stress. She had suffered pain, distress and discomfort and her social and domestic life had been disrupted.

Both Sunshine Professional Cleaning Services Ltd, with a registered address at Castlekealy Lawns, Daingan, Co Offaly and Thunders Bakery Ltd, with a registered office at New Inn, Enfield, Co Meath, had entered a full defence to Cozan’s claim, denying liability and alleging she had been guilty of contributory negligence.

Barrister Conor Kearney, for Cozan, told Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke that his client’s claim had settled.

Judge Groarke struck out the case against both defendants and awarded Cozan her legal costs. Details of the settlement were not disclosed in court.

More: Man loses action against nightclub because he was ‘engaged in horseplay’

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 7:42 PM

    HIQA are there do their job as described but is it realistic??? My nephew has intellectual disability, he’s 25 and lives in a shared house with similar, he’s ‘legged it’ several times and so have others in the house, locking them in for their safety surely is the lesser of two evils, my sister totally agrees!

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:22 PM

    Strange,
    You’re happy to see him confined to a house he doesn’t want to be in. The obvious question might be to ask if there is an alternative?
    Surely a 25 year old citizen should have some input into his own care?

    39
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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:23 PM

    HIQA sit in ivory towers and are often unaware of the reality of working on the frontline.

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:54 PM

    The internal doors of this facility were the one’s that were locked, not the external door.

    54
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    Mute Martina Dolan
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 9:02 PM

    Would you let a 2 year old go to the shops by him/her self ? No of course not , mind you they might want to . Sometimes it is the same with adults with a learning disability sadly , they don’t always know what is safe and what is not , it is up to us to try and keep harm of any kind from happening to them , it is easy to say that an adult should have choices and I totally agree with this but in some cases it is just not realistic . It is a very blurry line between what is freedom of choice and common sense .

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 9:12 PM

    Do you lock a 2 year old in their room for their own good in your house or does a responsible parent safeguard the 2 year old’s health and welfare by being vigilant and ensuring that the external door to the house is kept locked?

    36
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    Mute sarah harte
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 9:13 PM

    It’s not always as simple as that Paul. You are dealing with people who may not understand the choices they make and therefore it’s not safe to just let them walk out the door when they want. It’s the same as locking doors in nursing homes to keeping Alzheimer’s patients in or crèches for children. It may seem cruel but if you think about it it’s done for people’s safety.

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:01 PM

    I agree Sarah, it’s not simple.
    But I never assume that the way things are done is the best for all concerned.
    Yes, resources are limited, but given this are the clients getting value for the money spent on them?
    Is a city/suburban location, for example, appropriate, because a building with locked internal doors describes a prison.

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    Mute sarah harte
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:26 PM

    From experience even a rural setting for a care home has to put safety measures in place. It is impossible for even the best of staff to monitor patients/clients continuously and all these measures are put in place to provide the best care possible to people. HIQA guidelines seem very straight forward but are based on opinions of people who don’t seem to have worked in care homes or hospitals and care homes can fail on a multitude of errors that in reality are used to provide safety to people.

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    Mute Martina Dolan
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:36 PM

    Nobody said they were locked in their rooms , internal doors mean doors to offices , kitchens , cleaning rooms , sluice rooms etc etc . As any parent or nurse would known it is impossible to ‘stand guard ‘ over a number of children/ residents all the time , it is better to prevent the misadventure from happening than to try to fix it afterwards . Also if you have 14 or 15 residents in a unit you have to spend quality one to one time with each person , how is this possible if you are standing guarding doors , this is more prison guard like than locking doors .

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:51 PM

    Locking any patient in a room is a form of restraint, and restraints can only be used when there is an identifiable risk, and even then, it has to be the least restrictive and as a last resort. To suggest that inspectors are people who don’t seem to have worked in a care environment is a complete fallacy. The people who carry out the inspections of approved centers are people with professional qualifications who have also worked in this sector. We wouldn’t ordinarily accept being locked in a room in our own homes, and this is what this facility is, this is these residents home. Since when has it become acceptable to subject people with an intellectual disability to treatment that we ourselves wouldn’t tolerate? We also get a certain cohort who’ll make excuses for ill treating vulnerable groups, telling us that they’re acting in the residents best interests, when they couldn’t be further from the truth. Lets get something straight, whomever decided to lock these patients in their rooms was abusing the very people that they are employed to care and advocate on behalf of. If after carrying out a risk assessment there are residents who are deemed to be “at risk”….then it’s the responsibility of management to ensure that the unit is staffed to take account of the risk profile of the residents. The automatic default position should never be to start riding rough-shot over the resident and their rights.

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    Mute sarah harte
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:55 PM

    It does not give the situation in the article to what doors were locked. You’re jumping to sensationalist views that people are locked in bedrooms. Show me where it says that. It could be that bedroom doors were locked so people could not get back into the room. It could be internal corridor doors that are locked.

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 11:07 PM

    Sarah, the actual report stated that “one unit had locked internal doors which impinged
    on the liberty of some residents”….we’re not talking about sluice rooms being locked….so stop making excuses for ill-treating vulnerable groups.

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 11:17 PM

    To qualify what I said before the report said that “the inspector found throughout the inspection of the centre that doors to all units were locked and that staff were required to unlock main doors to permit entry. Within one unit, internal doors were also locked. While some residents may have required this form of intervention, it had a negative impact on other residents who may not have required this level of restriction on their individual liberty”. In other words, they were restraining residents who weren’t deemed to be at risk so they didn’t require an intervention of being restrained.

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    Mute sarah harte
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 11:47 PM

    But it was still being used to maintain the safety of others. The report also states that some residents “may not have required this level of intervention”. They have said that there was clients in this unit who did require this safety measure to be enforced. It’s a very fine balance when trying to ensure the safety and liberty of all patients when dealing with people who have varying needs and understandings of their environment. The report also says that following their recommendations no internal unit doors are locked. Are you not now putting the safety of other clients at risk?

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 4th 2014, 12:03 AM

    Sarah you cannot go around needlessly depriving patients/residents of their liberty under the guise that it is in the greater common good. In this country it’s illegal to deprive any person of their liberty under the Constitution and the ECHR. Yes they altered the practice when it was flagged by HIQA, but this is on top of another critical report from the MHC which found that nurses were delegating responsibility for restraining a male patient to security personnel. I also know of one other care provider who seems to think that they can environmentally restrain every older patient who is admitted to a step down facility regardless of risk.

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Apr 4th 2014, 12:12 AM

    Annette, there could be 101 perfectly valid reasons why certain doors were kept locked – without the details we just don’t know, so to jump straight in
    with accusations of residents being treated like prisoners is a bit, well, premature.

    Consider situations where, for example, a resident had a fascination with kitchen knives but didn’t understand the damage they could cause, or where a resident would drink water continuously until they became seriously unwell (it happens), or even where a resident had a habit of going into someone else’s room uninvited at night.
    These are just three examples of possible issues.

    What would your solution be?
    Its easy to say “make more resources available if they’re needed”, but what if those resources are not forthcoming from central government (as they seldom are nowadays)?

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    Mute sarah harte
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    Apr 4th 2014, 12:35 AM

    Do you have the link to that MHC report Annette? I have looked but can’t find that situation. I would like to read it and see what the situation with this particular client was before forming a solid view on that case. But generally they would not be the only institution where security personnel may have to be used to assist. That is part for the reason for having security there. The safety of staff cannot be disregarded and that particular male may have been extremely strong or violent. Are the nurses in question expected to put their own safety at risk when security may be better placed to help them restrain this patient? Do you allow other patients to maybe become injured during outbursts that the male patient may have because you feel you can’t involve security?

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 4th 2014, 12:38 AM

    Avina, I never jumped in with accusations of residents being treated like prisoners….what I said is that residents are being restrained….and that fact was established by HIQA in their unannounced inspection report. Take your example, you risk assess that patient, and you develop a ICP which allows you to manage that risky behaviour. You don’t however develop a system where 15 residents on a unit are not permitted to have knives at mealtimes because x has demonstrated a fascination with knifes. If a resident is at risk of wandering, then you ensure that they are not being put at risk, and you staff the unit to take account of the increased workload that is likely to be created in managing that identifiable risk. Yes resources are often constrained….but it doesn’t change the fact that the care providers are the one’s who’s ultimately accountable at the end of the day. You’ll find that things will always remain the same until someone shouts stop and you know what, this is no longer acceptable….but where are the unions?

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Apr 4th 2014, 12:48 AM

    Apologies Annette, my comment would have been better directed at Paul.

    To follow up on the knives example, no you don’t withhold cutlery from all the other residents, but you might lock the kitchen/dining room when not in use.

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 4th 2014, 12:58 AM

    Here’s the link to the MHC website and the relevant document is the 2013 inspection report for the Mid Regional in Ennis. The MHC found that security personnel were involved in physical restraint under the supervision of a CNM3. Anyone who is involved in the use of physical restraint must be aware of relevant entries in the patients care and treatment plan, which this security guard wasn’t, so there was a breach in S6.1 of the code. It should also be noted that there were wider systemic problems with the running of this unit.

    http://www.mhcirl.ie/Inspectorate_of_Mental_Health_Services/AC_IRs/#WEST

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    Mute sarah harte
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    Apr 4th 2014, 1:00 AM

    If staffing levels were to be adjusted you could possibly be looking at one on one care for some people. For that to happen would be amazing but it is just never going to happen. Funding is not available to provide the staffing levels required in any type of care setting. And it is an unfortunate fact that this means other measures are required to maintain safety. Due to the lack of funding and resources to provide the level of care some people may require where do we draw the line at maintaining safety. It would be great to see more facilities available where people had more similar care and safety needs but again it is not something we will see. Unions and government won’t listen. Frontline staff are decimated. Units everywhere are running on skeleton staff. And providing a high level of personal care to all patients without measures such as locked doors to maintain safety is a currently unobtainable goal. And thanks for that link :)

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 4th 2014, 1:01 AM

    That’s OK Avina, or to minimize the risk you’d ensure that the knives are kept in a secure location like a locked press.

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 4th 2014, 1:05 AM

    The report makes for very interesting reading, and I’d say that the issue raised in it are replicated the length and breath of this country…..St. John’s in Sligo,….different care environment….similar issues.

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Apr 4th 2014, 9:36 AM

    Annette I couldn’t agree more with everything you have said and I believe most parents would agree too. Rules and regulations are there for a reason to ensure quality of care regardless of which staff member is on duty. As a parent my heart sinks into my boots and my stomach is just sick for days when I read about levels of care falling below required levels. My family members work in this area. One family member saw many things happen like doors being locked just to make life easier for staff. Staffing levels were good training was good but staff just wanted an easy shift. I am not interested in excuses from staff. I am only interested in the best care possible for my son and others like him. Other places stick to the rules and do a great job so not only do the rules work they are working and working well. In other places. So I’m sorry I don’t accept excuses.

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    Mute Maureen O'Sullivan
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    Apr 6th 2014, 5:34 PM

    Well said

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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:00 PM

    Dont know.much about anything in relation to this, but if a locked door is the worst thing they came across i would say it was a good report.

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Apr 4th 2014, 9:53 AM

    Nope you are wrong. If it was your adult child who had their movements restricted then I think you may think differently. Let’s move away from the “good enough” attitude and realise that our vulnerable adults deserve the best care possible and just because someone is not starving or punching them we should be happy with lapses in quality of care that are not as bad but yet still impact vulnerable people. In any other business if you don’t do your job properly you are retained and if you still cannot do the job you are out the door so I don’t see why we should accept less for adults with learning disabilities. Just follow the rules and do the job properly. Other places do it and do it well. No excuses

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    Mute Martina Dolan
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 9:12 PM

    O my god , people are seriously missing the point here , can you imagine the headlines if residents started wandering and going missing , then all the comments would read , why was the poor innocent person allowed out !!

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Apr 4th 2014, 9:56 AM

    You are the one missing the point. It was INTERNAL doors that were locked. That is what the issue is about . Access within the building .

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    Mute Hugh Jarse
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:51 PM

    Well done Christina! You managed to identify the one negative in a mostly positive report and go with that as your headline. Why just inform when you can stir some sh!t as well?

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Apr 4th 2014, 9:47 AM

    One problem is a problem too much. If your son or daughter was vulnerable and non verbal you would still want them to have quality care and as much choice as possible. Adults with learning disabilities are still adults . They are not children. They deserve to be treated with respect and given as much choice as possible. Parents do this. They give their adult children choice and freedom and can balance this with the individuals safety needs. Parents do this with no support and often on their own . No staff no resources just mum or dad or sometimes both. I am not super woman yet I cared for an adult with dementia end stage heart failure and a child with a severe learning disability on my own. Didn’t even get carers allowance home help or respite even though my mother was aggressive at times. Now I care for a teenager and my other elderly parent. Here we have staff with training and colleagues and equipment and support staff and transport and they still can’t ensure quality care across the board for all residents.

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    Mute Ray Carney
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:16 PM

    So HIQA found that clients were treated with respect in an atmosphere of warmth with positive feedback from their families but this article highlights an issue that, rightly or wrongly, was there for safety reasons and has since been rectified? Sloppy journalism sensationalising one element of a positive report.

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    Mute Sean Malone
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 11:57 PM

    If it is not happening now it should not have been happening in the first place I have a sister who is a resident there and she could not be allowed to roam where ever she wants because it would not be safe it obliviously was not a policy of Stewarts to do that so one of the staff so it could have been a once off situation I have the upmost respect for the staff and management in Stewarts who give great care to my sister

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    Mute Elisa O'Donovan
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:07 PM

    Locking people into rooms is the same as prison. What have these people done to deserve to be given this punishment ? Disabled people are not criminals, and deserve exactly the same rights and treatments as every other irish citizen. That means the freedom to come and go as they please.

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    Mute Peter Richardson
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:44 PM

    The residents who were locked in were falsely imprisoned unless there was lawful authority for their incarceration. The disabled don’t have lesser legal protections.

    Undoubtedly, there may be levels of cognitive impairment so severe that detention is necessary for safety reasons but this requires a court order to restrict a persons’s liberty.

    The horror situation is if a fire broke out. There have been dreadful tragedies in such cases.

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    Mute Frank Dowling
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:34 PM

    Elisa.. you are totally misguided here.. the residents of stewarts are in general intellectually disabled.. they are unable to care for themselves.. thats why they are there in the first place..

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    Mute Elisa O'Donovan
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    Apr 4th 2014, 9:02 AM

    They are there because we prefer people with disabilities to be locked up segregated from society and out of public sight. People are saying the practise of falsely imprisoning people in their rooms is for their own safety. Let’s be real here folks. The only people we’re protecting here is ourselves, a society that completely excludes and marginalises disabled people, and a society that would prefer them locked up and restricted rather than be given the freedom and equality afforded to every other irish person. How can anyone be given the opportunity to integrate when they are afforded no personal freedom?

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    Mute Siobhan Gearty
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 11:22 PM

    Where does it state that the residents were locked in their bedrooms Annette ??

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    Mute McGuckin Annette
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 9:06 PM

    On December 5, 2013 the provider notified HIQA of allegations of abuse and prior to a meeting that was held on Dec 9th, Stewart’s advised HIQA that no staff member/s who were at the centre of the abuse allegations were providing care to the residents and a formal investigation by an independent investigator had commenced. What allegations of abuse had been made against members of staff and what has been the outcome of that independent investigation?

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:01 PM

    Who’s on the board of Stewarts and how much are they getting from the HSE?

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    Mute Thosj Carroll
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 7:43 PM

    Unbelievable! Those who lock up have no pity on disabled/disturbing kids! The best way is to sack them responsible for putting up chains to doors knowing they wouldn’t get out alive should fire breaks out.

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    Mute Joe Simpson
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 8:46 PM

    Yeah as the saying goes ” let your children run wild and free”

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    Mute Maurice Frazer
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 10:08 PM

    Another Stardust waiting to happen

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    Mute Emma Burns
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    Apr 4th 2014, 9:53 AM

    The sooner the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill becomes law and we have full ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with disabilities the better. Even people with profound disabilities have the right to liberty and a good life. Our record of providing ‘care’ to people in large institutions has been tarnished beyond repair in this country. As a society, we committed long ago to closing congregated settings down. Yet places like Stewarts attempt to support over 180 people despite endless evidence that such settings are wholly unsuitable to the provision of individualised, appropriate support that upholds the rights of the person with a disability. There is no excuse for the continued existence of such institutions, nor for our acceptance of their continued existance.

    Models of support that are adapted for people even with the most profound disabilities are already successfully at work in Ireland. Sometimes they cost a little more, sometimes less. Quite often they require the closure of large facilities and the loss of jobs. What they have in common is putting the will and preferences of the person with a disability at their heart. They allow people choice and the chance to develop meaningful relationships with support staff who work for *them*, not for an organisation.

    In light of recent revelations about CEO pay and the costs of running these massive organisations, it is beyond time for real change to happen. Small community based settings are shown to provide the best outcomes for people with intellectual disability in terms of quality of support, happiness, quality of life and safety. Organisations such as the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies, Genio, the HSE and countless groups of self advocates such as Seasamh and the Inclusive Research Network are in unison on the need to shut congregated settings down. It is national policy. There should be no debate, it’s been had already.

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