Young people left affected by closure of Cashel Na Cor

The partial closure of an Inishowen day centre for young adults with learning disabilities is having an adverse effect on its users, according to their family members.

Helen Barr from Moville is one of the young people affected by the partial closure of Cashel Na Cor in Buncrana.
Speaking to Donegal Live, Helen said she missed Cashel Na Cor.

She said: “I miss going on the bus to Cashel Na Cor. I miss the staff I miss my wee job in the kitchen and cleaning the tables. I do computers and cooking in Cashel Na Cor and I go for walks.”

Helen's mum, Avril, said she was annoyed by the latest closure of Cashel Na Cor.

Avril said: “Helen was off from March until September 2020 as a result of Covid-19. I can definitely see a change in her moods. She cries a lot now. Before this, Helen was very outgoing, sociable person. She loved being out and about. She loved getting up and getting ready for the bus to Cashel Na Cor.

“We used to say to her when she was going out the door, 'Have a lovely day, Helen' and she would say, 'I always have a lovely day, mammy' and then when she came home in the evening, her daddy or I would say to her, 'Did you have a lovely day, Helen?' and she would say, 'I had a lovely day'.

“But now, Helen has nothing to get ready for. I think it is a disgrace, quite honestly. It is a shambles at this stage.

“This situation is going on and on and on. The mainstream schools are all going back soon. I think young people with special needs are being ignored.

“I get the feeling it does not matter about them. The decision-makers think the can 'just sit at home.'”

Helen is now 31 and had attended Cashel Na Cor four days a week since she was 19. She also works in Centra in Moville for two hours on a Friday morning.

According to Avril, Helen loves her job: “She loves the girls and the craic. She goes out with them at Christmas. She had a great wee life. She was going horse riding on a Saturday.

”She had a very full life and now, with the closure of Cashel Na Cor, she has absolutely nothing and it really does tell on her.”
With Helen's dad, Dennis, out at work, Avril has not had a chance to get to her own Walk and Talk group or her role as a charity shop volunteer.

Avril recalled: “Cashel Na Cor only re-opened in September 2020. It could have re-opened before that but because the staff had been re-deployed to other settings within the HSE due to Covid-19, this did not happen.

“It took a while for Cashel Na Cor to re-open because they did not have enough staff. Adequate staffing seems to be the problem. The centre is still partly closed now, although young people with the most severe disabilities are still in. Some are there two days a week and some are there three days a week.

“Helen was off on two week's holidays and went back to Cashel Na Cor last Wednesday (August 18). Helen was always in four days a week but her days were reduced to a Wednesday and a Thursday.

“She went in on Wednesday and at 11 o'clock I got the phone call to say there was a Covid-19 outbreak in another residential setting and the staff of Cashel Na Cor had to be redeployed there.

“Helen was not even allowed back to Cashel Na Cor on the Thursday. I was told Helen would probably be off for two weeks minimum but I know it is never two weeks. It always goes on and on.”

When Avril explained the situation to Helen on Wednesday evening, she started to cry because she got no notice she would not being going back to Cashel Na Cor for the foreseeable future.

Avril said: “It took Helen a while to calm down. I just could not understand really why she could not have gone in the next day and got her day.

“The letter said: 'Unfortunately we have had a Covid-19 outbreak within the Inishowen area, within the Intellectual Disability Services. As a result of this, we have had to redeploy some staff from day services for a minimum of two weeks. This time frame will be kept under review as how to the outbreak progresses. This will have an impact on opening up the day service.

'We are attempting to retain as much of the Day Service open as possible but we will have to keep some sections of the service closed for a period.

'The manager of the day service that your family member attends will be in touch to let you know how you will be impacted by the situation. I apologise for the reduction in service and assure you that we are working to make sure day services are reinstated as soon as possible'

“What I don't understand is, the young people are vaccinated, yet Cashel Na Cor still cannot reopen.”

Speaking to Donegal Live, Councillor Rena Donaghey (Fianna Fáil) described the situation at Cashel Na Cor as a "crisis".

Cllr Donaghey added: "During last week when a number of staff and users proved Covid positive at a Community Group home in Inishowen. Resulting from this, staff were redeployed from a day centre which was just back after two weeks holiday and did not have any Covid cases.  The Centre, Cashel Na Cór Learning Disability Centre, had to close to users except those who are classed as Priority 1, as the staff were moved to the Centre which presented with Covid.

"I am extremely concerned with the situation. There should have been a plan in place in the event of this happening.  We just cannot close down a fully functional Centre which houses 42 users, from all sections of Inishowen, to keep another Centre open, it simply does not make sense.  I was in contact with the HSE and they have confirmed that the reason staff were redeployed is because there is no agency staff available to man the Centre which has Covid positives.  All centres provide excellent services and must be open at all times.

"Some of the stories that I have heard from parents and carers, and there are many, over the last number of days, are heart wrenching.  Cashel Na Cór was closed from March 2020 until June 2020.  Users had to be cared for at home during this time, due to Covid-19.  Many of the parents/carers are old age pensioners and have disabilities themselves so it is extremely challenging to cope.  They depend 100% on the service.  Users were just back after two weeks holiday when the announcement came that they had to stay at home again, possibly for 2 weeks. What happens if there is another outbreak, will they have to stay at home again? 

"The HSE need to have a plan in place to deal with this.  The contingency plan cannot be to remain at home until the outbreak is gone.  The users are not back in the Centre full-time they are only back on a twice a week basis.  The majority of users in Cashel Na Cór are fully vaccinated and stay in their own individual bubble of five. There must be a proper plan devised post haste, to allow all Centres to function as normal and not have a traffic light situation," Cllr Rena Donaghey said.

HSE Media Statement - Cashel Na Cor Centre, Buncrana

Cashel Na Cor is a centre in Buncrana which is used to provide day services to people with disabilities.

The delivery of day services was severely curtailed during the initial 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic but services have been in a position to reopen to provide reduced levels of service since September 2020.

The reopening of day services has taken place in compliance with Public Health guidance.

This means that whilst the centre is open on a full time basis the number of people who can be accommodated in the centre at any one time is reduced due to the need to adhere to Public Health and Infection Prevention Control guidance such as social distancing.

Services are working to provide as high a level of service as possible to service users whilst adhering to the Public Health guidance for the protection of service users, families and staff.

This is particularly important in areas where there are high rates of COVID-19 and community transmission of the virus is high.

In the past week, a HSE run residential facility in the Inishowen area which provides 24/7 hour care to people with disabilities, experienced a COVID-19 outbreak.

Residents and staff are affected and the service is ensuring that all Public Health guidance is being followed in dealing with the outbreak.

This includes measures such as restricting movements and isolating in order to prevent further transmission of the virus.

The number of staff available for work has been reduced as a result of the outbreak and incidence of COVID-19 in the area.

The numbers of staff needed to run the 24/7 residential services could not be provided from within the staff assigned.

Every effort was made to source staff from other areas and agencies but this was not possible due to service requirements in other areas and the lack of agency staff available.

Recruitment of staff to disability services by the HSE has been ongoing but the number of applications has been low and has not yielded the necessary numbers of staff required.

As a last resort, disability day services staff have had to be redeployed to provide care in residential services.

This has resulted in a temporary reduction in the provision of day services to some people who avail of day services in Cashel ns Cor.

A service will be provided ongoing to persons who meet Priority 1 criteria for day service provision. For some, home support will be provided instead of their day service.

The HSE regrets the impact of the measures that have had to be taken on persons who attend Cashel na Cor and their families.

The HSE is committed to having day services reinstated in Cashel na Cor as quickly as possible in the coming weeks and this will be a key focus of the Outbreak Control meetings held to manage the outbreak as effectively as possible.

 The incidence of COVID-19 in the Inishowen area which remains above the national average ongoing is of concern to the HSE. The HSE is urging all to continue following Public Health guidance in order to help keep each other safe during this pandemic.