Disability care home charged resident €4,000 for holiday to Donegal

Michael Bolton

A charity running a care home for people with disabilities charged a resident €4,000 for a holiday to Donegal, a recent inspection has found.

The information was revealed in a report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) on the Cara Cheshire Home in Dublin.

The report stated inspectors were shown the financial records for a five-day trip to Donegal, with the trip costing €3,115.50 in staff costs alone.

The inspectors saw  the cost of holidays were discussed at staff meetings and staff were encouraged to keep costs down.

However, the inspectors were not assured that residents had been appropriately consulted regarding these costs, or that the information regarding costs had been presented to them in an accessible manner.

The inspection said this resulted in a financial burden being placed on the residents in order to enjoy a short break within the country.

The 11-bed home provides care to adults with physical disabilities and neurological impairments, including cerebral palsy and acquired brain injuries.

The inspectors saw that residents' accounts were invoiced to cover the full costs of holidays, including staff costs, and that residents' consent for this was not documented.

The inspectors requested assurances that residents' accounts were not being used to cover the typical staff costs relating to operation of the centre for those holiday periods.

Hiqa found the centre was non-compliant in the personal possessions section of standards and regulations set by the watchdog. Overall, the centre was compliant across 11 of the 15 standards.