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Updated at 3pm
A NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED ‘high observation’ area built at Galway University Hospital has been used as office space, according to a report published yesterday by the mental health services inspector.
During an inspection carried out mid-March, the inspector found that the hospital’s psychiatry department had improved but the service “was in breach of the condition imposed by the Mental Health Commission on Individual Care”.
It said that some maintenance issues previously raised by the inspector had been addressed, but that the bedroom accommodation “was unsuitable for a modern mental health unit”.
It also noted the alternative use of the new observation area of the ward:
Regrettably, the newly constructed eight-bed high observation area remained unopened and was currently being used by the psychology department as office space.
The report also raises the issue of the activities nurse assigned to the centre, whose time “was not protected” and so could be called back for general duties. When this nurse was called away, “no activities were provided on the ward”.
The inspector’s report said security personnel from the general hospital were involved in physically restraining patients at the specialist department:
Physical restraint was used infrequently within the Department of Psychiatry. On the occasions where physical restraint was used the principle of least restrictive practice and resident safety applied….Security personnel occasionally assisted in physical restraint. As security personnel were not aware of, and did not have access to the resident’s individual care plan, they could not be compliant with section 6.1 of the Code of Practice the Use of Physical Restraint.
In its review of the centre’s admission, transfer and discharge practices, the inspector found that while the centre “was fully compliant with Article 32 on Risk Management”, its “policies on Transfer and Discharge were out of date”.
Separately, the inspector’s report for the acute psychiatric unit at University Hospital Limerick drew attention to staff training for dealing with violence and aggression: “A significant number of staff were not trained in prevention and management of aggression and violence.”
It said that residents did not have access to independent advocacy services “for a number of months” and that all residents did not have a risk assessment carried out.
New nursing posts ‘approved’
Responding to the report, HSE West said in a statement to TheJournal.ie that additional staff have been rostered to Galway University Hospital’s Psychiatry Deparmtent, “including 12 nursing staff who have been relocated from the former acute unit in Ballinaslow to the Acute Unit in Galway”.
A further eight new nursing posts have been approved for permanent appointment and are currently being processed through the National Recruitment Service. To strengthen the clinician governance, additional nurse managers have also been introduced in recent months.
Regarding the new high observation area, HSE West said that the ward has not been commissioned for use but that this “will be examined in the context of new staff being employed and the ever-changing clinic needs of the patients”.
On the issue of security staff from the general hospital being involved in physically restraining patients, the statement said: “Security staff are used in assisting staff in emergency situations only and appropriate training is provided.”
And asked about the suspension of activities on the ward while the relevant staff nurse was called for general duties, HSE West said:
A multidisciplinary timetable of activities is available for every patient tailored to their individual care plan. A nurse is rostered daily to the activities and an Occupational Therapy assistant is also allocated. Psychology, Social Work, Medical and the Pharmacy also have input into the activity programme and approval by the area Management team has been given for a Senior Occupational Therapy post to be recruited for the acute unit.
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They spent €21 million on upgrading a unit at St Brigid’s hospital Ballinasloe. On the day they finished the upgrade, they announced they were closing it. Why is there no responsibility or accountability for this?
Typical Half-assed measures from the HSE. Build a unit but don’t build it right. Build a unit but understaff it or don’t staff it at all. Hire more managers to oversee non existent operations.
Unfortunately it is going to take a high profile serious injury or death for Mental Health to be adequately resourced. In the meantime staff and patients continue to struggle in an inadequate and substandard service.
eric
it doesn,t matter about any “high profile serious injury or death” The same people running the hsa run the courts.
hse
That’s true Seeking. People are dying and getting injured every day in this country due to substandard mental health services and the HSE aren’t doing anything about it. This is why I specifically mention high profile- public outcry in response to media coverage is the only force that can galvanise the bloated slug that is the HSE
Second most expensive office space in the country
And the closure of Ennis acute psychiatric unit is imminent
more work for Limerick, which is 20 minutes away. Galway gets off scot free when it comes to Clare.
I have tried but can’t make any sense of that comment
Would you ever shut up about the services in Limerick. You’re on about the same thing all morning in any article related to health service. Yes we KNOW Limerick is under pressure and that you don’t like the limerick politicians – but you know what: ALL SERVICES IN THE HEALTH SECTOR ARE UNDER PRESSURE IN ALL REGIONS. We get it!…. Ur pissed off about the situation in Limerick. Now shut up about it
Can people not have respectful debates without telling others to shut up on TheJournal ? It is a form of cyber bullying .
People vote repeatedly for politicians who have as a policy objective the undermining of healthcare staff in terms of conditions of work, resourcing and pay, together with parish pump rather than evidence based service delivery, and then have the neck to act surprised when the consequences become plain.
Am i surprised?
Well! Am i?
Nothing new there. There were about 2 private rooms in Roscommon Psych unit. Which would be important for people in distress and trying to recover. Instead of trying to recover with 4 beds in a small room and a curtain between people. They turned one of the rooms into an office. They do not care about the person or their recovery. They just care about getting people onto prescribed mind altering drugs. And even better if they can get them on drugs for life. $$$ for pharma. While the person’s Quality of Life is reduced and not forgetting the serious adverse effects of some of this powerful drugs eg diabetes, weight gain, shrinkage of the brain.
Plus there will also be some lies in the report produced on that hospital by the Mental Health Commission (MHC). Who are the inspectors!
[Never stop or change prescribed drugs without talking to a good doctor, due to the dangers of withdrawal]
Robin
for the last three years i have suffered from chronic pain and every visit to the doctors or hospital resulted in me being prescribed anti?depressants which i never took,
I forced myself to do yoga and pilates two months ago, my mind is now better than it ever was, doctors just want to get you out of their office, take these, you’ll be grand……………………
Antidepressant medications are used very often in the treatment of pain syndromes.
As for yoga etc, forms of exercise is almost always recommended for self management of musculoskeletal pain.
What more, exactly, would you want your doctor to do?
my doctor was telling me for three years that my pain was in my mind and trying to put me on antids. I mot have to have two operations for bilateral thoracic outlet syndrome which means that 3 inces of the first rib on either side will be removed and a scalenectomy too,
He will b taking the stand soon to tell the court how a low level physician can diagnose depression in a visibly (muscle atropy neck shoulders arms hands)and chronically ill patient
“Anti-depressants” are the biggest scam I have come across in the last 40 + years of my life. These drugs can lead to mania, psychosis, suicide, violence or even homicide. As I think of all the suicides and murder/suicides even since the beginning of this year.
Only people who have experienced their brain/mind “spinning out of control” on the drug can understand. As people can take these drugs without adverse effects. And not forgetting the placebo effect.
If someone suffers from “Depression” or chronic pain an SSRI is not going to solve the problem and is a high risk option. Most so called bouts of Depression resolve themselves naturally anyway. There are so many other ways of addressing the problem, including therapy and CBT.
Hope you get some relief from the pain.
Not sure how doctors get away with having brochures in their waiting room (sponsored by companies like Lundbeck that make anti-ds) with false claims that these drugs “rebalance neurotransmiters”. I have yet to have a neurotransmitter test and these drugs have seriously effected years of my life. Destroying my career in the process. We all have a biochemistry but keeping it in balance requires self-discipline and daily work. Especially for some. There is no pill that cures LIFE or magic bullet when it comes to emotional distress.
[Never stop or change prescribed drugs without talking to an honest doctor, due to the dangers of withdrawal]
I suppose the delegation of a core nursing duty on to security personnel wasn’t done in consultation and with the agreement of the union either! Really, I find it very hard to believe that security personnel weren’t familiar with or had no knowledge of the patient or their care plan. Presumably nurses are flouting their responsibilities to other members of staff on this unit under H&S laws by allowing security personnel to fly blind in terms of their level of knowledge about programme of care that has been put in place to manage the patient. It certainly calls in to question the accuracy of the progress notes which should detail developments in their diagnosis and treatment, for all of those who share in their care, if nurses aren’t even discussing the patient with the person delegated to care for them.
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