Duleek parents raise concerns over 'state-of-art’ day care facility

The mother of a 24-year-old intellectually disabled son has called on the Health Service Executive (HSE) to open up its files on a proposed new day care centre for disabled people in Duleek which she has criticised as being “far from a state-of-the-art facility”, as described by the HSE. She said the proposed unit is an industrial unit in the local business park with few windows and no outside space for exercise or activities. Kay O’Shea, whose son Brendan is due to use the unit, said that she and other parents had been lobbying local politicians as part of their effort to persuade the HSE in Meath to provide an acceptable premises for the day centre due to open later this month. She said she had read a statement issued by Fianna Fail Meath East TD Thomas Byrne which welcomed the unit and said it was “second to none” and “designed with the needs of service users in mind”. Mrs O’Shea said that it was intended to transfer up to 20 people from service centres in Navan and elsewhere to the new facility, described as state-of-the-art and designed for service users. “It is a travesty. It is an industrial unit, and a poor one at that. It was previously used for electrical appliance repair, such as washing machines. The parents were not consulted properly about this new place. The HSE’s idea of consultation is to tell you they are doing something and then go ahead and do it whether you have an opinion or not,” she said. Mrs O’Shea said she had seen inside the building but “when the HSE realised we were looking at the building, they brought down the big shutters at the front. On three sides of this unit, there are no windows; in fact, there’s not much natural light in there at all. I feel that the HSE could find a much more attractive place than this for use as a day centre for people with intellectual disabilities. For most of them, this visit to the day centre is the highlight of their day. Some of the people who go there would not be going anywhere else outside of their home,” she claimed. Mrs O’Shea said that some of the people attending the unit would have high dependency needs which would not be met inside an industrial unit. If it was decided to bring people into Duleek village, the distance was half a mile and, on their way there, they would encounter some broken footpaths in the industrial estate. She added that she had photographs of the exterior of the proposed centre. “The reality is even more bleak, with vacant lots, waste ground and weeds on all sides”. A concern to the parents was the fact that a private company was being brought in to run the centre, she said. “This is the first time this has happened and the parents are asking why the voluntary and charitable organisations doing this kind of service for years could not continue to do it. What guarantees can the HSE give in terms of adherence to regulations and so on?” Deputy Byrne, who had welcomed the new centre, said that “a number of local parents have genuine concerns about the changes but I hope to continue to work with them and the HSE in relation to the matter”. The HSE, for its part, said that the new facility was undergoing extensive refurbishment and was expected to open mid-month. It added that a number of meetings had been held with individual families. These were ongoing and would continue as long as necessary. In addition, a meeting with a representative group had taken place during September. The HSE also said that individual care plans were being developed for each service user and these were designed to meet individual clients’ needs and maximise the potential for integration in community activities. Transport would be provided to facilitate participation in these activtiies. It added that the new service would be supported by a full clinical team.