A HIQA report into a popular Athlone children's respite service has found it requires a number of operational improvements.
St. Hilda's provides overnight respite breaks up to four children between the age of 5 to 18 years old with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Inspectors noted that the service provided a good quality of care to its residents, with service users' families praising staff for their work and behaviour.
An inspection conducted in May recorded 10 compliances, 9 substantial compliances and two non-compliances.
The areas most in need of addressing were infection control and the notification of incidents.
While good infection control practices were recorded on site, issues were discovered with medical dispensers, storage areas and cleaning schedules.
In the area of notification of incidents, improvements were needed in the area of submitting quarterly notification reports
Other areas highlighted as in need of attention were staff training, management processes, fire safety and personal care plans.
The care centre has confirmed to HIQA that a full list of procedures and works has been enacted to address the concerns raised by inspectors.
