Our disability services inspection team continues to engage with providers of services to promote quality improvement, with roadshows around the country happening later this year. We are also continuing our engagement programme with residents and their representatives and advocates.

We are currently planning a number of provider road shows in September 2019, for registered providers in Ireland’s disability sector. Any provider who would like to submit a topic for discussion at these roadshows, please email DC*********@hi**.ie by 30 April 2019. Further information on the dates and locations and how to book a place on the roadshows will be sent to all providers once finalised.

In March, we met with the National Disability Provider Representative Forum to discuss issues which are impacting on the quality of life and safety of people living in residential and respite centres within the disability sector. The Forum, which meets on a quarterly basis, consists of representatives from the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies, the HSE, the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Not For Profit Business Association. During the meeting, the Forum reviewed the terms of reference for the group and discussed a number of key areas including the upcoming provider roadshows.

We also talked to providers about increasing the use of the Provider Portal across the sector for submitting notifications to HIQA. New video demonstrations providing a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the Provider Portal have been added to the HIQA website.

In 2019, we will be extending our programme of engagement with residents and advocacy groups. Our focus is to hear residents’ views on what would be the most important things for inspectors to look for during an inspection that would indicate that a good-quality service is being provided for the people who live there. More details on these sessions will follow.