Health committee urges HSE board to intervene on closure of Owenacurra 

Reversal of decision to close facility would relieve 'families and residents of a prolonged ordeal of distress and uncertainty', committee says in letter to HSE

Residents of the Owenacurra centre and their families have expressed anger at the HSE’s perceived lack of communication with those affected regarding the planned closure. Picture: Howard Crowdy

The Oireachtas health committee has written to the chair of the board of the HSE, urging him to intervene in the decision to close the Owenacurra centre in East Cork, due to “serious” and “grave” concerns over the repercussions of the move.

The Owenacurra facility in Midleton provides long-stay and respite care, but was earmarked for closure by the HSE. 

However, the lack of suitable alternative accommodation for residents saw the original targeted closure date of October 2021 come and go.

Residents of the Owenacurra centre and their families have expressed anger at the HSE’s perceived lack of communication with those affected regarding the planned closure since its announcement in June 2021.

The HSE has insisted the decision for closure is due solely to the building no longer being fit for purpose.

The situation with the centre has been the subject of scrutiny from multiple Oireachtas committees, and this latest intervention from the health committee suggests a “long-standing agenda” on the part of Cork/Kerry HSE to close the service.

The letter from the health committee notes the HSE has proceeded with the closure since July prior to further exchange with the HSE board, and that residents are being offered placements in St Finbarr’s Hospital, Cork, and St Stephen’s Hospital, Glanmire.

“These placements represent significant downgrades in key respects for Owenacurra residents,” it said.

“Some Owenacurra Centre residents are also being offered placements in temporary accommodation in Garnish House, Cork City — a facility that the HSE plans to not continue renting beyond the first quarter of 2023. 

This involves moving highly vulnerable people from one situation of prolonged uncertainty to another.” 

The committee letter also emphasises its concerns about the decision-making process relating to capital expenditure of mental health facilities in Cork.

“There is no paper-trail of the clinical decision-making that led to the Owenacurra Centre closure decision,” it said. 

“There are records of a building rationale provided but no written consideration of the removal of services and its implications in the lead-up to that decision being made in an un-minuted meeting on June 22, 2021."

The letter concludes with a request for the intervention of the HSE board to reverse the decision to close Owenacurra, which would relieve “families and residents of a prolonged ordeal of distress and uncertainty”.

Local Green Party councillor Liam Quaide said: “In detaching itself from the Owenacurra Centre closure the HSE Board is failing some of the most vulnerable people in the care of the organisation."

In a statement, a HSE spokesperson said the decision to close Owenacurra was “very difficult but unfortunately necessary”.

“It is not possible to keep the Owenacurra Centre open. No refurbishment could deliver the quality of accommodation which residents deserve, in line with modern requirements and standards within a realistic budget,” the spokesperson said.

The HSE’s plan would “ultimately deliver a much better service for people using our services now” in east Cork, they added.