Senior HSE management have asked a psychiatric union representative to formally retract claims made about patients moved to nursing homes against their wishes and who later died.

A WOMAN left wheelchair-bound by multiple sclerosis who spent over a month in the Mater Hospital was offered nappies as an alternative to a suitable bathroom because no wheelchair accessible toilet was available.

FAILINGS in mental health units across the country including “serious deficits” in services, “unacceptable” living conditions, and “insufficient” bathing facilities, have been highlighted in the 2008 Inspector of Mental Health Services report.