HSE sets up child welfare advisory group [sbpost.ie]
- Published: 27 March 2011
A new high-level advisory group on children and family services has been established by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The new Advisory Committee on Children and Family Services was spearheaded by Gordon Jeyes, the newly-appointed national director for that section in the HSE.
Members of the advisory committee, which met for the first time last Thursday, include chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, Jillian Van Turnhout, Barnardos chief Fergus Finlay, Trinity lecturer Dr Helen Buckley, Michelle Clarke from the Department of Children, and deputy chief of The One Foundation, Emma Lane Spollen.
Jeyes said the group would help ensure that ‘‘the need for children’s welfare to be everyone’s responsibility was embedded in the approach to children and family services’’.
He said there was a need for ‘‘a broader base of external advice to ensure children’s services were more outward looking’’.
The move is likely to be welcomed, as Ireland has a poor record when it comes to child protection.
A confidential report into the HSE’s child protection services, leaked in 2010, criticised the HSE’s management style as ‘‘reactive’’ and ‘‘crisis-driven’’.
The report also found there was a postcode lottery when it came to services, with varying standards of service on offer in different areas.
It is understood that Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan, child law expert Geoffrey Shannon and the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) turned down the invitation to participate, citing potential conflicts of interest.
Full Story: www.sbpost.ie
