St John of God to terminate services with the HSE

St John of God's provides intellectual disability and mental health services to over 8,000 people across the country. Picture: PA

St John of God Community Services has announced it will transfer its services to the HSE and will terminate its arrangement with the health service. 

Currently, St John of God provides intellectual disability and mental health services to more than 8,000 people. They employ 3,000 staff and volunteers and provide services in 300 locations across counties Dublin, Kildare, Kerry, Wicklow, Meath and Louth. 

The group sent the formal letter of notice to the HSE yesterday and communicated to the children and the adults they support in the last two days.

Chief executive of St John of God Community Services Clare Dempsey said this was a regrettable decision but one that was taken due to their financial position. 

"In the face of an intractable funding crisis that has prevailed for over a decade, we simply cannot continue," said Ms Dempsey.

We have endeavoured to resolve this over the years in talks with the HSE but without success.

"In February of this year, we advised the HSE that the extent of the financial crisis was so acute that if the accumulated deficit and current funding requirements were not addressed, we would be left with no option but to serve 12 months notice to terminate the services."

Ms Dempsey said the group wrote to the Government to alert them of the €27m annual funding gap and the accumulated deficit of €37.7m. She said the lack of funding has led them to use old vehicles and dilapidated buildings to run their service.

"The step that we have now taken goes against what we want to do and what we have tried to do for almost a century, but we simply can no longer continue in this intolerable situation which has so frequently compromised (despite the best efforts of staff) the services and supports we provide to people," said Ms Dempsey

"Systemic underfunding has prevented us from implementing the long overdue transition of residents from unacceptable institutional settings into a home in the community."

In a letter to service users, the Service said it would do everything in its power to manage the smooth transfer of service over the nexr year.