Damning report on patient environment at Roscommon psychiatric unit
The psychiatric unit is located at Roscommon University Hospital.
An annual inspection report published today by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) has painted a damning picture of the patient environment in the psychiatric unit at Roscommon Hospital.
Cramped conditions, televisions awaiting anti-ligature casing, potentially hazardous radiator pipes, bed curtains held together with Sellotape and ripped arm rests on couches were among some of the issues identified at the unit in the inspection report.
The report also identified critical risk non-compliances with regulations on privacy, rules on seclusion and the code of practice on physical restraint. High-risk non-compliances were identified in the areas of individual care planning and staffing.
In its report, the MHC said that the Roscommon psychiatric unit was not kept in a good state of repair internally or externally, and numerous maintenance issues were identified following an inspection.
The unit has a total of 24 beds, 22 in the general ward and two additional beds in the High-Dependency Unit (HDU).
The report said that residents in the unit did not have access to appropriate personal space as the four-bedded dormitories were very small, with the beds approximately one metre apart.
The commission noted that there were three holes in the wall of one bedroom and cigarette burns on the windowsill; two old radiator pipes were sticking out of the floor in one bedroom, presenting a potential hazard; burn marks on the floor of the seclusion room; one of the chairs in the garden was missing part of the seat; three radiators were awaiting protective casing at the time of the inspection and there was a broken hand towel dispenser in one of the toilets.
“The approved centre was not clean, hygienic, and free from offensive odours, as cigarette butts were observed on the ground of an outdoor and a smell of smoke was detected in the group room,” said the report.
The Mental Health Commission’s annual report revealed that psychiatric unit had a 75% compliance rate across a range of regulations, representing a rate drop of 13% from the previous report on the unit. The 2022 report branded the facility “as unfit for purpose”.
The Roscommon report was one of four inspection reports on approved inpatient mental health centres around the country published today.
Director of Regulation for the commission, Gary Kiernan said: “The MHC believes that poor physical environments and unresolved maintenance issues fail to respect residents’ human rights.
"Quite apart from that, these reports once again emphasise the need for a targeted, funded strategic capital investment programme in our public system.”
In relation to the areas of non-compliance at the Roscommon unit, the commission has prepared a corrective and preventative action plan with a series of timelines.
