New mental health unit needed in county
The pyschiatric unit is located to the rear of Roscommon Hospital.
A new mental health unit in Roscommon will address key areas of concern raised by the Mental Health Commission, the HSE has acknowledged.
The continued drop in compliance at the Roscommon psychiatric unit is primarily due to its “inadequate physical infrastructure which does not meet the standards required for a modern mental health service,” the HSE has admitted.
The latest inspection report carried out at the facility by the Mental Health Commission (MHC), and published last month, revealed that the compliance rate at the unit was now at its lowest in five years, The unannounced four-day inspection in May found that the current compliance rate stands at 73% compared to last year’s figure of 75%, and the 2022, 2021 and 2020 rates of 88%, 88% and 94% respectively.
The inspection team found that the 24-bed unit, located on the ground floor at the rear of Roscommon Hospital, was non-compliant with minimum standards in nine areas of the regulations, rules and consent to treatment.
Particular areas of concern included rules governing the use of seclusion, which the report described as “critical”. Other areas of concern included privacy, staffing and consent to treatment.
In a statement to the Herald, a spokesperson for the HSE said it accepted the findings of the report which indicated a drop in compliance, primarily due to the unit’s “inadequate physical infrastructure.” The spokesperson said that four of the nine areas of non-compliance identified in the report had now been resolved.
“In the longer term, constructing a new mental health unit will address three more key issues. A working group has been formed to bring this project to fruition. In the meantime, the service continues to carry out remedial works to achieve the highest standards within the limitations of the current infrastructure,” she said.
