Hospital facility in Cork ‘not suitable’ as psych unit

A psychiatric unit where patients have no access to fresh air and where a naked patient was exposed because of inadequate privacy measures has been criticised by the inspector of Mental Health Services.

The 50-bed acute unit at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH), Cork City, was deemed “not suitable” as a mental health unit in its layout and size.

The latest inspector’s report describes it as “small, with a number of very cramped double bedrooms” and without readily accessible outdoor space “for relaxation, leisure, or exercise unless residents left the hospital premises”.