THE number of patients at a Limerick psychiatric hospital will be reduced to 16 in the coming weeks, following a report which blasts facilities at the hospital and recommends closure.
For the second year running, the Mental Health Commission has called for the winding down of St Joseph’s Hospital in Mulgrave Street, following an unannounced inspection of the hospital last August. The hospital has been earmarked for closure since 2002.
The inspection found that the 187-year-old building is not wheelchair accessible above ground floor, and the MHC found deficiencies in staffing, patient care plans and therapeutic services. The report states that patients were insufficiently informed about their treatment.
According to the inspectors, the male toilets “smelt strongly of urine…the premises did not provide a therapeutic environment and was wholly unsuited to 21st century mental health care and should be closed”.
In a statement given to the Limerick Post, a spokesman for the HSE said it is “fully committed to the closure of St Joseph’s. All admissions ceased in 2010.”
Reductions in the number of patients started in 2010, with numbers being cut from 69 beds to 53.
“Efforts will continue for the remainder of 2012 to reduce the beds numbers to zero by attempting to source suitable alternative accommodation for the remaining patients with complex needs who will require continuing care and treatment,” the spokesman said.
At the time of the inspection, there were 28 patients remaining in the hospital and this has since been reduced to 23. Plans currently being implemented will see more discharges over the coming weeks, leaving one ward of 16 patients in the hospital, according to the spokesman.
“Due to the individualised discharge packages put in place for each patient our success to date has been very positive. All patients who are discharged continue to receive care and monitoring from the Community Mental Health services. Limerick Mental Health Service will continue to work with each patient and his/her family to pursue appropriate discharge placements for our remaining patients”.
