Director of Mental Health & Disability Services, Jan McGall has revealed that staffing levels at Woodlawn House, in Dungannon, are still nowhere near where they should be, with only 50 to 60 per cent of the required staff currently working there.
Woodlawn House is an eight-bed facility catering for individuals with complex needs which cannot be adequately met in other caring settings.
The Dungannon venue provides short breaks of around a week for individuals aged 18 and over with a learning disability, complex needs and challenging behaviour.
Speaking at Thursday’s (November 27) board meeting of the Southern Health & Social Care (HSC) Trust, the senior Trust official stated: “In relation to short breaks, Trust board members will be well versed in the current challenges in maintaining short-break provision at Woodlawn House in Dungannon.
“There has been ongoing media attention to this issue, and general public interest in [this]. Yesterday, we facilitated a visit from Minister Mike Nesbitt and other elected representatives to the facility, to meet the family carers, service users and our staff, to help them understand frontline issues.
“At present, unfortunately, our staffing levels are reduced to between 50 to 60 per cent of the required workforce, and as such our service delivery is also reduced.
Related: Woodlawn House: Trust accused of ‘moving the goalposts’ and leaving unpaid carers ‘paying the price’
“From April, the Trust has been working extremely hard to maintain a service, prioritising those whose needs cannot be met elsewhere for their short breaks, and to grow our staff team.
“Hours of service are steadily increasing, and we continue to recruit new and additional staff, which we will continue to do until we return to service as usual.
“It is the Trust’s priority to ensure that Woodlawn House fulfils its operational hours as soon as possible, and we continue to work to recruit and support our staff in that area.
“I want to take this opportunity to recognise the impact on carers of the reduction and cancellation of short breaks, and to thank them for their understanding. And again, to reiterate our apologies for this service interruption.”
Likewise, non-executive chair of the Southern HSC Trust, Eileen Mullan wished to apologise to carers and service users, on behalf of the statutory body.
She remarked: “You’ve referenced the challenges around staffing at Woodlawn House, and being able to satisfy the respite care for everybody who would like it. It has been highlighted politically.
“I echo your apologies to the families and the service users who have been impacted. I think it’s really important.
“We’re not delivering at the level that is needed, but we’re struggling in relation to our staffing, 50 to 60 per cent of the required staffing levels.
“I hope the visit yesterday was helpful for both the minister and the elected reps, to understand Woodlawn House, what it does, and to hear from the staff directly.”
