Sir, – I have read the shocking Health Information and Quality Authority inspection report about a home where children were “confined upstairs” for days on end due to a broken lift (“Children with disabilities left confined to bedrooms for weeks due to broken lift, Hiqa finds”, News, May 8th).
This is 2023. Something has gone badly, horribly wrong when we are counting the days that children were unable to leave a building, a place which is meant to be their home.
The report told the story of the children missing out on school, having their meals in an office space and social activities on the landing. How many minutes or days are acceptable to have your freedom limited, your young life restricted? Your access to outdoor space and play and school taken away.
This is 2023. Something has also gone wrong when we fixate on compliance and action plans and reports and risk assessments rather than getting to the pure heart of the matter and asking ourselves some fundamental questions. Do we value all children equally in this State? Would we accept this inhumane treatment for a non-disabled child ? The uncomfortable truth lies in the answer to these questions. – Yours, etc,
DERVAL McDONAGH,
CEO,
Inclusion Ireland,
Dublin 1.