Psychiatric unit still closed seven months after official opening
The eight-bed inpatient facility in the grounds of St Stephen’s Psychiatric Hospital in Glanmire, Cork, was described as “an important development in our child and adolescent mental health services” when it was ‘officially opened’ on April 3 by Minister of State at the Department of Health, John Moloney.
Its failure to open means the national complement of beds for children and adolescents in need of inpatient psychiatric help remains at 22, just two more than the number criticised as “seriously deficient” in a report on mental health resources published three years ago.
The report, A Vision for Change, is, in theory, the Government blueprint for the future development of mental health services but progress in its implementation to date has been painfully slow.
Among its recommendations is that “urgent attention” be given to the completion of four 20-bed units in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin, which would bring the national inpatient bed complement for child and adolescent mental health services to 100.
Two 20-bed units are under construction in Cork and Galway and construction work on both is due to be completed by the end of the year.
The eight-bed Glanmire unit was meant as an interim measure until work on the 20-bed unit in Blackrock, Cork, was complete.
Fine Gael mental health spokesman Dan Neville said the level of resources given to all psychiatric services was appalling and that one of the most neglected areas was child and adolescent mental health.
“There is an enormous number of children being admitted inappropriately to adult wards for treatment. These are totally unsuitable to the needs of a young person.
“Failure to provide appropriate early intervention for these children is seriously damaging to their future wellbeing and will lead to chronic mental health problems in the long term, at huge personal cost and greater economic cost to the state,” Mr Neville said.
Spokeswoman for the Irish Psychiatric Association (IPA), psychiatrist Dr Siobhan Barry, said failure to open the unit was “a huge lost opportunity”.
A statement from the HSE said it was “continuing to recruit 14 staff” for the unit and that it was expected to open in a number of weeks.
Initially, the HSE had said it expected to start accepting clients eight weeks after the official opening of the unit.
The consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and the director of nursing for the unit have been appointed and have taken up their positions.
New staff members, which include medical nursing and therapy staff, have recently taken up employment and are being trained and inducted.
The new unit in St Stephen’s comprises three double en-suite rooms and two single en-suite rooms.
