HIQA was established to drive high-quality and safe care for people using Ireland’s health and social care services. We do this through the regulation of social services and inspecting and monitoring public health services and children’s social services. The regulation of designated centres is a key mechanism that aims to provide assurance to the public about the safety and quality of a service. The Chief Inspector of Social Services within HIQA regulates residential centres for older persons (also known as nursing homes), people with disabilities and special care units for children. Regulation involves registering, inspecting and monitoring, and receipt of information.

The Chief Inspector maintains a register of designated centres which have been inspected and deemed to meet the regulatory compliance required for registration. While registration ensures that designated centres provide safe services by controlling who can or who cannot operate a centre. Inspection activity is also a key component of regulation to ensure services are safe. The Chief Inspector assesses whether a provider will comply or is complying with the regulations2 and standards,3 prioritising the protection and safeguarding of residents to ensure that residents receive a high standard of care. The receipt and review of information is a vital component in the regulation of services. We receive, analyse and risk assess information from a range of sources. Such information, which may be in the form of statutory notifications or unsolicited information, is used to identify potentially harmful events that have impacted on the health, safety and wellbeing of people using services.

During 2019, our inspectors carried out over 1,600 inspections and spoke to an even larger number of people who use services. Our findings show that many people are receiving a good quality service. This is reflected in the positive feedback we hear while on inspection, in our inspection reports and in the overall trend of improved compliance. However, there remains a significant number of children and adults who are not receiving a service appropriate to their needs and preferences. Our priority is to continue to safeguard these people and drive improvements for everyone who accesses health and social services in Ireland. Overview reports of our work during 2019 in services for children, older persons and people with disabilities, and healthcare services will be published in 2020.