Mental hospital’s proximity to prison is ‘extraordinary’

PSYCHIATRIC nurses have described as “extraordinary” the decision to site a new central mental hospital on the same campus as a planned super prison.

As residents living close to the site of the proposed facilities in north Dublin prepare a campaign of action, health professionals have warned the placing of the two in such close proximity is a backward step.

Tim O’Malley, the minister of state responsible for mental health, said the hospital will be constructed on its own grounds, with a separate entrance and road access.

However, Liam McNamara, of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, said: “It’s an extraordinary proposal. Talk about a stigma. It’s a backward step to build a mental hospital within the same complex as a prison.”

Mr McNamara’s association, in meetings with Minister O’Malley and former Health Minister Michael Martin, proposed replacing the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin and setting up three or four regional units so that patients are closer to their own families and communities.

Under that proposal, the considerable amount of cash raised from the sale of the Dundrum site should be ploughed back in to funding mental health, according to psychiatric nurses.

Mr McNamara was echoing criticisms made by voluntary groups, including Schizophrenia Ireland. Chief executive John Saunders claimed placing the two facilities so close to each other “will lead to the criminalisation of the Central Mental Hospital and its client population.”

There is a question mark over whether the hospital falls under the heading of administration of justice, which would allow the Government to bypass the normal planning process.

A Department of Health spokesperson said the hospital houses offenders who have been detained following criminal trials.

However, Mr McNamara said the majority of patients have not been convicted of a criminal offence. He added that services provided by the central hospital would not do anything for the prison population, many of whom suffer some degree of mental illness.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell announced on Wednesday the Government had paid €30m to buy 150 acres at Killsallaghan near Swords in north Dublin. The announcement came as a complete surprise to local residents. Hundreds gathered on Thursday night to denounce the plan.