HSE committee admit UN disabilities convention may have been breached by Owenacurra closure

The Owenacurra mental health facility which was closed recently. But concerns have been raised as to the appropriate nature of the settings many of Owenacurra’s residents had been moved to

A senior committee of the HSE has admitted that Cork/Kerry Healthcare may have breached a UN convention on disabilities in closing the Owenacurra mental health facility in East Cork.

Minutes from a specially convened meeting of the HSE’s Safety and Quality Committee (SQC), held last February to discuss the impact of the closure, show that concerns were raised as to the appropriate nature of the settings many of Owenacurra’s residents had been moved to, along with the decision to transfer residents away from the Midleton area against their wishes.

The special sitting of the committee was organised upon receipt by the HSE board of correspondence from Owenacurra resident Michael O’Sullivan in early January, in which he detailed the “destabilising” and “cruel” nature of the closure, adding that he felt “like a pawn in some game” between the Mental Health Commission and the HSE.

The meeting’s attendees recorded in the minutes their concerns regarding the placements of some of Owenacurra’s residents at St Stephen’s Hospital in Glanmire, and St Catherine’s Ward in St Finbarr’s Hospital, both of which had received lower compliance ratings from the Mental Health Commission than Owenacurra had.

“Concerns were expressed that these environments are congregated settings that are campus-based, isolated, away from the community in contravention of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Government policy, and HSE policy,” the minutes noted.

They further noted that “some members of the Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the need to transfer the residents away from the Midleton area contrary to their expressed wishes”, although they also noted that other members were of the view that the closure had been “considered and measured and made in good faith”.

The minutes also noted that the closure of Owenacurra had had a “significant effect” on the residents for whom “it was their home”, and that a number of the residents were “opposed to the closure and would prefer that the centre remain open”.

Regarding Mr O’Sullivan’s letter, the committee agreed that “a senior clinical consultant” should meet with Mr O’Sullivan and his family “to discuss the concerns raised and to address such concerns directly with the resident”.

In response to a query regarding the Committee meeting, a HSE spokesperson said that “as the minutes outline, the Owenacurra Centre is closing because it requires such extensive refurbishment that it would have to be re-built rather than refurbished”.

 Cllr Liam Quaide has been a long-time advocate of keeping Owenacurra open. Picture Dan Linehan

Local Midleton councillor Liam Quaide, a prominent advocate of keeping Owenacurra open, said: “It's very concerning that some HSE board members have judged the transfer of residents to be ‘considered and measured’ on the basis of consulting solely with HSE management and while declining to meet with families impacted, or their representatives."

Owenacurra had first been marked for closure in June of 2021 and had at that time a complement of 20 residents, most of whom had lived there for some time. While the facility has never closed, only six of its initial complement of residents now remain.

The closure received staunch opposition from within the community, and sparked a sustained media and political campaign in an attempt to reverse the decision.