Homeless group warns over sale of State’s mental hospitals

THE right of patients to decent accommodation must be preserved when the State’s 15 mental hospitals are sold off, a homeless organisation demanded last night.

Alice Leahy, director and co-founder of Trust, said mistakes of the past must not be repeated.

She wants the immediate appointment of independent advocates for patients in each hospital affected.

“Many of the people we meet homeless on the streets of Dublin have been patients in mental hospitals.

“They are living proof that plans to close mental hospitals and move services into the community over 20 years ago have not been a resounding success because adequate services are not available in the community.”

Ms Leahy, speaking at an annual nursing and midwifery conference at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, welcomed the decision to sell off the hospitals.

However, she noted an obvious omission of a clear and unambiguous commitment to provide appropriate accommodation for many of the patients affected. Some will require community-based accommodation.

Concerns raised by Trust and other organisations have led to junior minister Tim O’Malley directing that property developers - anxious to buy larger psychiatric hospitals - would be obliged to include community-based facilities for 1,000 mentally ill patients in new housing developments.

However, it could be several months before details of the new tendering arrangements are finalised.

“We are all aware of what happened regarding the proposal that a percentage of each new housing development had to be made available for social housing,” said Ms Leahy.

“Developers were allowed to buy their way out of that responsibility by making a contribution to the local authority.”

She raised questions as to whether the same procedures would apply in respect of people with mental and psychiatric problems.

The process of selling or redeveloping lands occupied by 15 psychiatric hospitals is due to commence shortly but could take 10 years to complete. Among the first hospitals likely to be put up for sale is the 70-acre St Ita’s Hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin, believed to be worth about €800 million.

Ms Leahy said nurses had a unique opportunity to make a difference on the issue as they were going to be re-deployed from the mental hospitals into community psychiatry care teams.