Cork respite home for children closed due to lack of staff

A Cork respite centre for children with disabilities has been closed since last year as the provider has been unable to find staff, a new Hiqa report has revealed.

Cooleens House, in Charleville, which is managed by St Joseph’s Foundation, was marked substantially compliant in five areas and not compliant in one, governance and management.

An unannounced inspection occurred when the centre was unoccupied — meaning that no resident or staff views were obtained — so observations were limited to the premises.

The premises were well-presented, but some maintenance issues were noted. These included the wardrobe door in a bedroom being chipped, a toilet seat in an en-suite bathroom needing to be replaced, and one ceiling hoist that was marked “beyond repair”.

Respite service 

There was a respite service on alternate weekends until December 2024, when the centre indicated that they would not be providing respite, due to staffing issues.

As a result, aside from a brief period in January and February 2025, the centre had not been providing the respite service since December 2024.

When queried on the current inspection, it was confirmed that the situation remained unchanged and that staffing challenges were the primary reason.

Recruitment was ongoing for a dedicated person in charge, along with a staff team for the centre.

However, at the time of this inspection, such recruitment efforts had been unsuccessful, meaning that the centre did not have sufficient staffing to provide the services.

Checks

Aside from annual reviews and unannounced provider visits, the assigned person in charge was conducting some regular checks on the centre while it was unoccupied.

These included checks related to fire safety and Legionnaires’ disease, based on documentation provided.

This gave assurance that there was some monitoring of the centre while it was not in use.

St Joseph’s Foundation informed HIQA after the inspection: “There is ongoing recruitment for all grades of staff through its HR department and the recruitment for the centre is a priority.

“The designated centre will be reopened once the registered provider is assured that the correct staffing levels and skill mix is available to ensure that the care and support, as per the statement of purpose, can be provided.”

It comes amid ongoing shortages of respite care for children with disabilities, with The Echo revealing last year that the Cork family of a person with disabilities was told that they would have to travel to Donegal to avail of respite services.