A HIQA inspection at a St John of God-run residential centre in Drumcar, Co Louth has found major non-compliances in nine of the ten areas inspected.
The two houses on the St John of God campus, which cater for 16 residents, were the focus of an unannounced inspection in April.
An earlier inspection in February had concluded that the centre was so under-staffed that it could not ensure the effective delivery of care.
In early April, management gave HIQA its report on an investigation of an alleged physical assault on a resident by a temporary staff member which found the gardaí were not informed promptly.
The mid-April inspection then found major non-compliances in nine of the ten areas inspected in the two houses.
It concluded that ineffective leadership, governance and management arrangements were leading to consistent, repeated and continual failings which placed residents at unacceptable risk.
One resident had a communicable healthcare infection.
However the person shared a room with a peer who had a wound and whose bed was less than a metre away.
There were inadequate responses to allegations and suspicions of abuse and the practice of locking residents alone in a unit, had occurred on a number of occasions when under- staffing occurred.
Residents with complex needs were living alongside residents who, staff said, hit out at or bit them almost on a daily basis.
HIQA says senior management at Drumcar failed to respond and put in place interventions to mitigate such risks.
Two action plans drawn up by management in response to the findings were rejected by HIQA as inadequate.
Source: RTÉ News
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