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	Health chiefs have been ordered to review the use of isolation units for troubled teenagers in light of a damning inspection of a care home.</p>
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		Children&rsquo;s minister James Reilly said the use of &ldquo;single separation&rdquo; should be consistent, safe, and accountable after youngsters at Ballydowd Special Care Unit in Dublin had to urinate on the floor or were denied a shower after being locked up and refused access to bathrooms.</p>
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		&ldquo;I know that young people in special care units have experienced great difficulties in their lives and that this can spill over into extremely challenging behaviour, including self-harm and assaults on staff, but this is not the standard of care that we expect,&rdquo; said Mr Reilly.</p>
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		Health chiefs are being asked to examine the use of isolation in special care, children&rsquo;s residential centres and the detention centre for young offenders in Oberstown.</p>
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		The audit will look at the frequency, duration and practice of single separation and the suitability of the buildings and rooms where youngsters are kept.</p>
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		&ldquo;The objective of the review is to ensure a consistent, safe and accountable policy for children&rsquo;s welfare when this intervention proves necessary, in all the relevant settings in which it takes place,&rdquo; said Mr Reilly.</p>
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		<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/review-ordered-of-isolation-units-for-teens-351458.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/review-ordered-of-isolation-units-for-teens-351458.html</a></p>
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