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.

“One person recently appeared before the courts and required a secure psychiatric bed, but was released on bail when none was available.”

His criticisms come in light of last Saturday’s fatal stabbing of Michael Hughes in Harold’s Cross, Dublin.

A man arrested in connection with the incident had sought psychiatric treatment at St James’s Hospital and at St Vincent’s Hospital on three days last week, but was not detained.

Mental health is treated “as an outcast in the context of overall health and general spending”, said Mr Neville.

The general secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, Des Kavanagh, warned that the lack of psychiatric resources will result in more deaths.

Speaking on Newstalk 106-108fm, he said on 90 occasions over the past two years Dublin hospitals have had problems managing the behaviour of some patients that had to be transferred to St Brendan’s Hospital.

“There is nowhere for those 90 patients to go. Our minister must call in the HSE to explain themselves.”

Meanwhile, a 24-bed gynaecology unit at Portiuncula hospital will close from next week until the end of January due to the HSE recruitment embargo.