Newtown House, the children's residential centre about which a disturbing report was published yesterday, closed down before Christmas. The report, by the Irish Social Services Inspectorate, prompts the question whether there are other residential centres which have - or could develop - the poor standards of care which existed there. Unfortunately, there is every such possibility.
Newtown House faced a potentially dangerous combination of challenges. First, the children resident there were very disturbed, so that other placements had broken down. The staff were largely untrained for the work they were doing - which counted among the most demanding in professional childcare. They were expected to run what was, in effect, a secure unit in a house entirely unsuitable for that purpose. Moreover, the psychological services which were badly needed for the children, were subject to delays of up to six months.
It is hardly surprising that children were subjected to physical restraint on occasions when they could have been "talked down". Some of these children were injured - one suffered a broken leg. Neither is it surprising that children were inappropriately locked in their rooms, sometimes for days, because of infringements - nor that a programme designed to improve their behaviour was mishandled and occasionally made their behaviour worse.
Complaints made to the health board were not followed up with the degree of thoroughness the inspectorate believes was required. There is no doubt the staff were under tremendous pressure. Assaults on them were relatively frequent. Some found themselves on duty the day after they were appointed with no opportunity to learn about the institution or the children who lived there. Staff turnover was extremely high. This in itself was bad for the children, since continuity of care with the potential to form healthy relationships, is one of their greatest needs.
The question must be asked: how many other children's residential homes are using untrained staff because they have no option? There is little doubt that Newtown House could have done with a closer, more pro-active involvement from the Eastern Health Board and, later, the East Coast Area Health Board. Health board social workers, praised in the report, seem to have been given less access to Newtown House, and especially to information about what was happening to the children, than they should have had.
In how many other situations is this true? And are health board managers strong enough to insist that their social workers get the access they need? The East Coast Area Health Board is to appoint a manager of residential childcare services and this is a great step forward. But there is an overall lack of services which continues to bedevil parents of disturbed children, schools, childcare services and residential units.
Essentially, they are operating in an environment of scarcity. It is that scarcity, rather than the actions of the untrained staff, which should be the main focus of concern in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, there is reason to be grateful that there is now an Irish Social Services Inspectorate which can conduct investigations, judge institutions against clear criteria and publish such findings.