Serious concerns raised over Waterford disability service

A Waterford residential support centre has been found 'Not Compliant' in four key areas of inspection.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), recently undertook the unannounced inspection of Comeragh High Support Residential Services, which consists of one detached bungalow and a smaller terraced apartment.

The centre provides full-time residential support for up to five residents with intellectual disabilities.

The purpose of the inspection was to provide assurance that safe and good quality care was being provided to residents in this centre.

Inspectors found that the provider was not clearly demonstrating that the centre was resourced to meet residents' care and support needs.

There were a high level of unsupervised falls at the centre, which did not assure inspectors that resident safety and quality of care was being appropriately managed at all times. 

For example, since March 2025 a resident had sustained six unwitnessed falls within the centre.

Inspectors reviewed documentation to demonstrate that this resident had 41 incidents relating to falls between January 2024 and March 2025, with one document indicating at least half of these were not witnessed by staff.

Overall, the inspectors found that the provider had not ensured that effective systems were in place for governance and management in the centre. This is an area that the provider had failed to meet compliance with since 2018.

Inspectors also found that the provider's latest six-monthly and annual review were not available for review in the centre.

In addition, the provider had not ensured that there were effective systems for the assessment, management and ongoing review of risk in the centre.

The findings of the inspection did not provide assurances that residents in this centre were in receipt of a high quality safe services.

Inspectors found that the provider had failed to recognise, respond to and address resident compatibility and safeguarding issues in this centre.

On further discussion with the staff members present, it was stated that one resident had a history of making allegations that were deemed to have not occurred. However, there was no system in place to manage this care need.