Mental health group argues against hospital move

THE state body appointed to safeguard the rights of the mentally ill said the Government’s decision to move the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) to Thornton Hall would “promote isolation and exclusion” of patients.

The Mental Health Commission said putting the CMH beside the new prison complex at Thornton would “increase the stigma” already experienced by people with a mental illness.

Commission chief executive Bríd Clarke told the Oireachtas health committee that the commission was never consulted by the Government before its shock announcement in 2004.

“The Mental Health Commission is of the view that the proposal to site this facility at Thornton Hall, beside a new prison complex, is not in patients’ best interests and is not conducive to promoting patient rehabilitation and recovery,” said Ms Clarke.

The 150 acres at Thornton Hall in north Co Dublin was bought for €30 million by the Department of Justice. About 130 acres will be taken up by the relocated Mountjoy prison complex, which will house at least of 1,400 inmates.

The remaining 20 acres is being offered free to the Department of Health to relocate the CMH, which would have a facility housing 120 to 200 patients.

Ms Clarke said the purpose and function of the two institutions were “distinctly separate”. She said Thornton was not well serviced by public transport, which would place “considerable additional burden on families to maintain contact with their relatives”.

She said there would be few if any opportunities for local external activities such as work experience, which were essential elements of a rehabilitation programme.

Ms Clarke said building a new hospital at its 34-acre site in Dundrum would eliminate all these problems.

“There is an excellent transport system, a wide range of community and social facilities and the facility is well established in the local community.”

The Mental Health Coalition, representing various organisations, also presented to the committee. Its director, Caroline McGrath, said the move to Thornton would worsen stigma for patients and their families.

She said patients’ children would be “oblivious” to government assurances that there would be separate addresses and management structures for the prison and hospital, particularly if the child uses the planned shuttle bus service.

“How is a family to explain to a child, already struggling to make sense of a parents illness or prior actions as a result of illness, that mum or dad did not do anything wrong, is in hospital and not being punished and that the project is not co-located but is just adjacent to a prison,” she said.

The committee yesterday was brought to Thornton Hall. Fine Gael’s Dan Neville said there would be a watchtower which would look down on the hospital and the prison.

Fianna Fáil’s Beverley Flynn said she was “not impressed” by the entrances as the prison took up all the road frontage.

The committee will not make a recommendation until September 9 when it hopes to hear from the Department of Health.