Physical abuse concerns at special care unit for children in Limerick city

A LIMERICK city special care unit for children was subjected to an unannounced inspection following reports of children being physically restrained with concerns about potential physical abuse. 

The restraints were found to be in a way that is not in line with Tusla’s methods and there were also concerns about the introduction of security into the unit. 

Coovagh House Special Care Unit were assessed by HIQA for eight regulations and found to be not compliant with five and substantially compliant with three. 

The health watchdog said that children who spoke to inspectors said “they were happy with the care and support being provided in the unit.”

It was found that management systems were not adequate and that they couldn’t ensure the service was “safe, consistent and effectively monitored.” 

In one incident, which happened in December 2023, a child protection notification was not sent to Tusla until five days after the incident. 

The report said concerns remained in relation to serious incidents and inspectors reported a child protection concern to Tusla and the gardaí that may constitute physical abuse. 

The report said: “child protection and safeguarding risks were not consistently identified during management reviews of serious incidents and the management response to identified risks did not adequately consider safeguarding issues relating to the use of unapproved behaviour management techniques.”

READ MORE: A life under the sea: Kilkee's Manuel Di Lucia dives into the past with new memoir

Coovagh House caters to the needs of children aged between 11 and 17, who are placed in a special care unit by a court when their behaviour poses a risk of harm to their life, health, safety, development or welfare. 

The unannounced inspection was carried out on March 19, 2024 and it was found that there was an individual programme of care in place for each child with appropriately detailed records, which were up to date and clearly represented the child’s needs and circumstances. 

There were three children there on the day at the unit. 

Following the inspection, the centre entered an escalation process and assurances were sought to ensure adequate arrangements to improve and maintain compliance with regulations.