Patients have nowhere to go, says FG

DISTURBED and violent psychiatric patients have nowhere to go due to a chronic shortage of secure beds, according to Fine Gael spokesman for Mental Heath, Dan Neville.

Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, Mr Neville criticised the reduction of secure psychiatric beds at St Brendan’s psychiatric hospital from 24 to 14, which he said had resulted in a situation where disturbed patients, who cannot be accommodated in an open ward, have nowhere to go and are released.

The shortage of secure psychiatric beds is symptomatic of the Government’s neglect and underfunding of mental heath services, he said.