Fiasco is a waste of resources

Dr Moosajee Bhamjee has exposed serious shortcomings in the revamped mental health service in Co Clare, almost two years after Our Lady’s psychiatric hospital closed in Ennis.

The Mental Health Commission had advised that modern psychiatry should be community-based, but the proper facilities to treat many of the patients in the community have not been provided.

Although the Mid-Western Health Board introduced a €12.7 million programme to disperse patients from the acute unit in Ennis to high-support units at Kilrush, Shannon and Spanish Point, the mental health service has still not provided adequate bed replacements.