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Minister Butler announces public consultation on a Design Guide for Long-Term Residential Care Settings for Older People
- the Department of Health, in conjunction with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), seeks the views of the public on a draft Design Guide for Long-Term Residential Care Settings for Older People
- new Design Guide will provide clear, best practice guidelines for the building, extension, and conversion of public, private, and voluntary residential care settings for older people
The Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler has announced a new public consultation on a Design Guide for Long-Term Residential Care Settings for Older People (public, private, and voluntary).
The public consultation will allow the Department of Health to hear the views of a wide range of stakeholders and the feedback received will inform the final version of the design guide.
The aim of the design guide is to describe and illustrate what good building design looks like for long-term residential care settings for older people. High-quality design, planning, and construction is vital in creating safe environments that enable high quality care, supporting positive experiences and outcomes. The new design guidelines will apply to the building, extension, and conversion of long-term residential care settings for older people.
Following the publication of the Design Guide for Long-Term Residential Care Settings for Older People, the Chief Inspector within HIQA will support those seeking to deliver long-term residential care services for older people by offering a pre-application registration advice process prior to an application for planning permission from a Local Authority.
"Ireland’s population is ageing rapidly, and the improved health outcomes and extended life expectancy that have been achieved in recent decades must be acknowledged and celebrated.
"Engagement with our older population clearly indicates their preference to age in place, in their own homes, for as long as possible, and I am committed to supporting and facilitating these wishes and preferences in the years ahead.
"COVID-19 has also highlighted the urgent need to examine the models of care currently being provided to older people. This will involve short and long-term reform across Government and will include the establishment of the Commission on Care for Older People, which is due to begin its work in 2024."
Minister Butler continued:
"Long-term residential care remains a crucial part of the continuum of care for older people and it is vital that the built environment and location of residential care settings support high quality care and positive experiences for our older population.
"I have therefore committed to creating new design standards for long-term residential care settings for older people, inclusive of the public, private, and voluntary sectors, which will articulate best practice in design across the sector and will provide a common benchmark against which standards can be measured.
"I look forward to hearing the views of the public and key stakeholders, including Local Authorities. All feedback will be considered prior to the final published guide."
The consultation is hosted on the EUSurvey platform. The links to participate in the consultation can be found on the consultation page on gov.ie, can be accessed from today, and will close on the 15 February 2024.
In May 2023, a Steering Group was convened by the Department of Health to develop and publish a Design Guide for Long-Term Residential Care Settings for Older People. The core membership of the Steering Group includes representatives from the Department of Health, the HSE, and HIQA.
The guide is underpinned by international principles and will articulate best practice in design for long-term residential care settings for older people and will provide a common benchmark against which the standard of these settings can be measured.
The design guide will provide guidance for those:
- designing a new long-term residential care setting for older people
- extending an existing long-term residential care setting for older people
- converting/adapting a building that is not currently registered as a residential care setting (for example, hotel)
- refurbishing/retrofitting/renovating an existing long-term residential care setting for older people
As part of the pre-application registration advice process, the Chief Inspector of Social Services will ask applicants to provide detailed plans and information so that inspectors can consider the suitability of applicant’s plans and can suggest improvements, where appropriate. The Inspector’s comments during the pre-application registration advice process will not guarantee registration, but they will be able to alert applicants to areas that do not comply with the relevant regulations, standards, and best practice (including the design guide).