Lynch to visit ‘unsuitable’ institution for intellectually disabled
Campaigners have long deemed the institution unsuitable and inappropriate. Some of the residents have lived there for 20 years.
Ms Lynch has previously called it “the most inappropriate place one could possibly imagine”.
Deirdre Carroll of support group Inclusion Ireland said it is “isolating institutional and enclosed”, while former MEP and disability campaigner Kathy Sinnott has maintained that visiting it was one of the saddest experiences of her life.
Grove House, on the grounds of St Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital in Cork, is a secure unit for 30 people who are intellectually disabled.
Ms Lynch’s visit has come about thanks, in large part, to the campaigning efforts of the sister of a long-term resident, Paul O’Sullivan.
Paul’s sister Marcella told the story of Grove House in this newspaper 10 years ago, and more recently on RTÉ’s Prime Time, but believes that very little has changed for Paul.
Ahead of Ms Lynch’s visit, Marcella maintained that staff have been moved around, new furniture has been bought for the facility and she has been asked what would she like to put in Paul’s room to make it appear more homely.
“No matter what they do they cannot cover up what has happened to Paul all of his life in there.
“He has never been given any opportunities. I highlighted this issue 10 years ago and nothing has changed. It’s not good enough.”
Just two weeks ago, after many requests from Marcella, Paul was finally brought to a dentist where 18 teeth were extracted from his mouth in one sitting.
“I was completely shocked when they said he had 18 teeth taken out,” Marcella said.
“How could anyone do that to someone in one go and without any preparation? There was blood dripping out of his mouth and he was totally out of it. He was in the recovery room for 20 minutes and then I drove him around for a few hours. When we got back to Grove House they would not let me in with him.”
Inclusion Ireland boss Deirdre Carroll said it is bad practice to have 30 adults living in such enclosed conditions.
Commenting on Paul’s lack of dental care, she said people with an intellectual disability living in services are often neglected physically.
She said it was “barbaric” to take 18 teeth from someone in one go and without preparing the person, but said unfortunately Paul’s case was not an isolated one.
“This is down to neglect and a lack of ongoing care and it is simply easier to take the teeth out then to look after them,” she said.
“This is a traumatic experience as it is not explained and the person might only discover what has happened when they wake up from an anaesthetic.”
