5 days ago
Three care workers injured in latest incident at Oberstown
Three residential social care workers have been injured in the latest incidence of violence towards staff at the
Oberstown Children Detention Campus
.
The injuries, which were all sustained in the one wider incident, resulted in two female staff having to be taken to hospital by ambulance while a male staff member also sought medical attention, said staff.
The assaults involved a single teenage boy and the female staff involved were said by their colleague to have been kicked in the torso and seriously hurt.
The latest incident brings to 13 the number of staff reported to have been injured at the facility since the start of June.
READ MORE
Fórsa, the union which represents many of the staff at Oberstown, has said there is a big problem with staffing levels at the facility and in an interview with RTÉ radio recently, Koulla Yiasouma, suggested that an additional 20 to 30 care staff are required.
At present, about 250 people are employed at Oberstown of whom about 150 are considered frontline, mainly residential social care workers.
In the facility's recently published annual report, Ms Yiasouma alluded to ongoing issues at the campus, describing 2024 as having been 'particularly challenging as our occupancy levels have remained high and staffing levels are still a challenge'.
'The needs of some of the young people are increasingly complex and the willingness of the whole staff team to adapt to those needs is remarkable.
Privately, however, staff say theyoften feel unsafe due to the numbers on the duty and what they believe are flawed procedures for dealing with the small number of particularly violent teenagers in the units.
A survey of staff members conducted earlier this year found a majority believed individual and collective morale was low with many saying they felt unsupported by management and that conditions had become worse over the previous 12 months.
Oberstown has a capacity of 40 boys and six girls. Ms Yiasouma said it rarely has a free bed.
The annual report details the positive work carried out with the roughly 120 young people who were there at some point last year, citing the numbers who were trained as baristas, fitness instructors and, in one instance, a forklift driver. But there is little acknowledgment, the staff say, of the daily challenges they face.
In a statement made in relation to Thursday's incident, Oberstown said it 'offers its full support to any member of staff who has been injured in the course of their duties. As a matter of policy, every incident at Oberstown is subject to a thorough internal reporting and review process, which operates on the principles of supporting all individuals involved and maintaining the integrity of the review.
'Oberstown does not comment on operational details relating to specific incidents. Where injuries occur, individuals are assessed by the on-site medical team and, in accordance with standard procedure, may be referred to hospital for further checks.
'Oberstown has robust safety procedures in place, and all relevant protocols were followed in this instance. The campus was appropriately staffed, and the situation was managed in line with established practice.'
