Respite services to finally resume in Inishowen

Respite services in Carndonagh are due to resume within the next three months, the HSE has confirmed.

Riverwalk Respite House had been providing emergency respite services for adults who were living there full-time over the past two years.

Clients from Inishowen are expected to return for Intellectual Disability services in the second quarter of 2022, further to residential accommodation being completed for those currently occupying the house.

At this week’s Regional Health Forum, Cllr Albert Doherty was told by acting Chief Officer, HSE CHO 1 Dermot Monaghan that the residential accommodation is “at an advanced stage of readiness” and recruitment for staff is underway.

People with disabilities from Inishowen have been offered respite at Ballymacool House in Letterkenny and home supports in the meantime.

Mr Monaghan also said that the HSE is progressing with plans to lease Milltown House, Carndonagh as a respite centre with greater capacity than Riverwalk House. Milltown House continues to be used as a centre for the delivery of day services to a number of people with disabilities. 

"First the HSE Estates department will have a structural and Mica assessment of the property carried out in order to inform a plan for upgrade works which will be needed to bring Milltown House to the required regulatory standards for respite service provision.

"When the details of the works are identified this will inform the funding requirements for upgrading and the final terms of the lease.

"In the interim Milltown House continues to be used as a centre for the delivery of day services to a number of people with disabilities," Mr Monaghan said.