HSE ‘preparing a business case’ for new psychiatric unit in Roscommon

The HSE is “preparing a business case” to build a new psychiatric unit to address the issues highlighted in a damning report on the existing facility at Roscommon Hospital.

Responding to queries from the Roscommon Herald, a spokesperson said that local mental health services “are preparing a business case to construct a new, specialised facility” to address the issues identified in a recent annual inspection report.

That report by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) painted a damning picture of the patient environment at the Roscommon psychiatric unit.

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.

The spokesperson told the Herald that the Department of Psychiatry (DOP) in Roscommon had “structural limitations as it was not purpose-built for its current purpose”.

“In the interim, all items identified in the recent Mental Health Commission Inspection Report regarding fittings and furnishings have been addressed.

“However, like all older buildings, the DOP is subject to wear and tear and, therefore, has an ongoing maintenance programme with the Roscommon University Hospital Maintenance Department. Currently, only one television unit is left to be installed, which will be taken care of shortly,” said the spokesperson.

This 2023 MHC 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, located on the ground floor at the rear of the hospital, 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’s annual report revealed that the psychiatric unit had a 75% compliance across a range of regulations, representing a rate decrease of 13% from the previous report on the unit. The 2022 report branded the facility “as unfit for purpose”.

The Roscommon section of the report, which found that the unit was non-compliant in six out of 29 regulations, was part of four MHC inspection reports on approved inpatient mental health centres around the country.

In relation to the areas of non-compliance at the Roscommon unit, the commission recommended a corrective and preventative action plan with a series of timelines.