Cork care centre got favourable inspection just months before HSE closure decision 

The Mental Health Commission reported that the Owenacurra Centre was “in a good state of repair” in February, but the HSE said in June it was “not fit for purpose”

The HSE has decided to close the Owenacurra Centre in Midleton because it is “not fit for purpose”.

A residential care centre received a favourable report from the Mental Health Commission just months before the HSE decided to shut it down.

The HSE has insisted the Owenacurra Centre is “not fit for purpose” and decided in June that it will close on October 31. But after an annual inspection in February at the centre in Midleton, East Cork, the MHCI praised it as “in a good state of repair”.

Inspectors found five non-compliances with regulations and 21 areas where the centre was compliant. The report will fuel confusion among families about the reasons why the centre is having to close.

Families are also concerned about where their loved ones, whose conditions include schizophrenia, are going to be housed after the centre closes.

Today’s report states: “The approved centre was adequately lit, heated, and ventilated.

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“The premises were in a good state of repair inside and outside. Current national infection control guidelines were followed.

“Appropriate signage and sensory aids were provided to meet residents’ orientation needs. Sufficient spaces were provided to residents to move about within the communal room and in outdoor spaces.” Nowhere in the MHCI report does it either suggest the building is structurally unsound or unfit for purpose.

Indeed, the word “building” is only mentioned seven times throughout the 59-page report.

One reference states that the “building” should be “as far as practicable, accessible to persons with disabilities”.

And even where it states there were deficits “in the structure of the building”, this related to the fact that single bedrooms were “small and without adequate furniture to meet the residents’ needs” and there was “no assisted toilet”.

The HSE, in a statement to the Irish Examiner on Monday, stated: “The building is simply not fit for purpose.

“We planned to refurbish the building, but as work progressed on those plans it became clear they would not be enough to bring the building to the standard rightly required by the Mental Health Commission.

“In June, our own building experts warned us the building is in very poor condition, with major defects.

“They also told us that even if refurbishment took place, they could not guarantee the refurbished building would meet current building requirements or be regarded as fit for purpose.

It was clear no matter what refurbishment takes place, the building could not meet either building standards or the high standards set by the Mental Health Commission as regulator.

“The Mental Health Commission has raised serious concerns about the centre, and we share those concerns.”

However, in today’s report, the major concerns the MHCI raises have more to do with the lack of individual care plans, the lack of therapeutic services and inadequate risk management procedures as well as staffing problems.

Where the centre failed on regulations covering premises, this was because the centre lacked routine maintenance, did not have adequate facilities and “did not ensure the environment was maintained with due regard to the specific needs of residents”.

The MHCI also pointed out that the HSE “did not ensure the environment was maintained with due regard to the safety of residents”.

It stated this was evident because the number of “ligature points and burn hazards were not minimised”.