Mental health patients locked up without toilet

WOMEN in the Central Mental Hospital are locked up for 12 hours at night in cell-like rooms and have to ring for nurses to go to the toilet at night, an inspection report by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) found.

The inspection, carried out in May, raised concerns that women had told advocates that, at times, they had to wait up to 30 minutes for a nurse to let them out at night, and this had resulted in “accidents”.

The report also noted that seclusion rooms were “unsafe” due to blind spots, and that patients had to sit in grim corridors to watch television.

Other reports published by the MHC yesterday expressed concern about a number of issues, including a lack of care plans for patients in mental health facilities, a lack of therapeutic interventions and the prescribing of medication.

Inspector Dr Patrick Devitt noted that St Ita’s hospital in Portrane had plans to enforce the commission’s orders that it relocate its admission wards, but noted that residents still remain housed in the 19th century building.

“The overwhelming impression of the approved centre was of old, poorly maintained buildings and limited facilities,” said the report. “Even in areas of the hospital which were not part of the original building, these were institutional and outdated. In the rehabilitation wards, there was little evidence to indicate progressive or dynamic programmes of rehabilitation.”

Dr Devitt said that, despite the continued use of these old, unsuitable buildings, the service had placed great emphasis on the use of individual care plans, which were of a high standard. But he added that the lack of full multidisciplinary teams limited the availability of therapeutic services.

He said that, at St Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview, residents’ use of mobile phones seemed “quite restrictive” and did not allow for sufficient privacy. It was also noted that residents were sometimes transferred to other wards within for the night to create bed space in the acute ward. This practice would appear to be contrary to “the best interests of the resident”.

In Co Mayo, at a continuing care facility, An Coillín, the inspection report highlights “significant and serious gaps” in the therapeutic services and programmes provided to residents and the range of services provided to all residents had been cut back since the last inspection.

“It was unacceptable that one resident was sleeping on a mattress on the floor because a suitable bed was not provided,” said the report. “There were also ongoing difficulties in securing more appropriate accommodation for another resident with an intellectual disability and mental illness. A similar issue was also reported at another facility in Mayo, Teach Aisling.

“It was disappointing to note that one resident whose needs were not being met continued to be a resident. This was the third year in a row where this situation was highlighted, and was made more worrying as documents in the clinical file indicated that €155,000 had been made available to Western Care for the management of this resident,” said the report.