Mick Clifford: Vulnerable teens are the losers in long saga of Cork addiction centre
Adolescents who were struggling with drug and alcohol dependency — and their families — were the beneficiaries of the Cork charity which had stepped into a gap left by the State. Stock picture
FOR over 20 years, Matt Talbot Adolescent Services (MTAS) did vital work in the Munster area.
Tackling the fallout from drug and alcohol addiction and dependency is tough work at the best of times. When the clientele is made up of teenagers and young people, positive interventions have a ripple effect right throughout society.
The young person is rescued from a life in which a downward spiral is practically predestined. He or she has a chance to actually build a life and advance into adulthood like it’s a brand new day.
Families that have had to cope with the addiction of a loved one are relieved of stress and worry.
And society gains, not least through foregoing the burden of the cost of acute healthcare and, more often than not, imprisonment.
In that respect, MTAS performed a vital and much-needed function for over two decades in treating young people with addiction issues. As with other areas of the healthcare system, it stepped into a breach where the State was failing.
One of the charity’s major innovations was the establishment of Cara Lodge in the West Cork village of Enniskeane. This residential facility saw a succession of young people receive the kind of treatment that provides the best chance of escaping addiction.
Therefore, the decline of the charity, in both the provision of a service and its public standing, is a development worthy of note.
For the last three years, MTAS has been beset by management difficulties and internal strife. While the focus should have been entirely on providing a vital service, far greater energy would appear to have gone into dealing with the fall-out from how the charity had developed and was run.
There has been a series of reviews, investigations — both internal and external — protected disclosures about the running of the organisation, and high-profile departures.
The latest developments include a statutory direction from the Charities Regulator to produce a wide array of documents, including minutes from board meetings, investigation files, and recruitment policy. The regulator has also asked MTAS to identify the company secretary.
Some within the sector trace the charity’s problems back to plans around 2015 to expand and seek out new sources of funding beyond the HSE.
That same year, MTAS hired Patrick Relihan a former priest, as its chief executive. Mr Relihan didn’t possess any specific management qualifications, although he was hired after a competitive process. Since starting with the charity, he did study for a management diploma.
In 2016, following some disagreement internally, the clinical director, who had been with MTAS since it was set up in 1999, was suspended. She remained suspended on full pay for three years. Eventually, she left the organisation after receiving a financial settlement.
Later in 2016, a clinical audit of the services on offer was conducted, but its results were never published. The staff were not informed of its content or recommendations and, therefore, were not in a position to action any positive change.
In 2019, following an inspection, Tusla recommended that Cara Lodge should not be allowed to admit any new residents because of shortcomings in management at local and chief executive level. The ruling was subsequently adjusted to allow admittance with a number of conditions attached.
By then, another staff member had left the organisation in acrimonious circumstances. Later, a financial settlement would also be made with the departed employee.
Later that year, the HSE commissioned a major review of the operation of MTAS on foot of a number of protected disclosures. The review was conducted by two external social care consultants, but their final report was never published.
The HSE told the that the reason for the failure to publish the review — or provide it to management at MTAS — was that the reviewers had gone beyond their brief. However, what did emerge from the review was a decision to close Cara Lodge in September 2020, with the loss of 18 jobs and the end of a unique and valued residential centre for troubled teens.
At the time, the HSE and MTAS issued a joint statement, which said: “There has been a significant reduction in referrals from the HSE/Cork Kerry Community healthcare to MTAS resident services at Cara Lodge in the last five years.
“Any reduction in the referrals of children to residential services is to be welcomed as, from a clinical point of view, removing a young person from their home environment for treatment is the least preferable option and should always be seen as a last resort.”
Different sources working in the social care and youth addiction services in the Munster region have disputed that the demand for such services had gone south. Presenting the closure as responding to demand was, in that context, very convenient at a time when there were major unanswered questions about the running of MTAS.
The only losers in such a scenario were the teenagers who might have benefited from the service.
Last June, Mr Relihan resigned with immediate effect. Following his departure, MTAS chairman Christy Cooney commissioned another review with another external consultant. That was finalised late last year and, according to reports, recommended a tightening of management structures.
Despite that, it would certainly appear that the Charities Regulator is unhappy with the ongoing operation of MTAS as it has directed that extensive documentation be produced.
In response to queries, the regulator stated that it does not comment on individual cases.
Where MTAS goes from here remains to be seen.
For many years, the charity had received the bulk of its referrals from State bodies such as the HSE and the Probation Service, but confidence in the operation of MTAS is believed to be at an all-time low in those organisations.
Whatever went wrong, whoever might be culpable, it is the young people most in need of intervention who will be the biggest losers.
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