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NINE TEENAGE PSYCHIATRIC inpatients in a Dublin hospital were evacuated due to an electrical fire, and have not yet been able to make a full return, with some having their care downgraded to over-the-phone support from home.
Two staff members were hospitalised for smoke inhalation following the fire on Sunday the 6th of April, and were discharged following treatment later that evening. No patients were injured or hospitalised.
It is the second fire in the adolescent inpatient unit at the St Vincent’s Hospital in Fairview in five years. Staff are now concerned that the infrastructure of the building itself, which is almost 130 years old, is unfit for purpose, though the unit itself has been retrofitted.
The 15-18 year olds who were resident in the unit have severe or complex mental health disorders, such as psychotic mood or anxiety disorders. They are admitted in the case that other “less intensive care settings” have failed or were not deemed appropriate.
The unit has a capacity of 12 beds, and there are only around 70 such public beds available for this age group nationwide – though not all of those are currently commissioned due to staffing shortages.
A medical source with knowledge of the situation in the unit at St Vincent’s said that moving these children, who have serious conditions, to other hospitals or to their homes for the last month will have been “traumatic”.
“Having 12 beds decommissioned for a month during a mental health service crisis is unacceptable. Staff no longer believe this unit is fit for purpose, though it is retrofitted and lovely in terms of the area where the patients live, the two floors above are derelict, and it’s clear now that there is an urgent need for a new building, that we can be sure is safe for staff and patients,” the source said.
They added that the fact that not all of the young people could be accommodated within hospitals highlights the fact that there is a “serious shortage in psychiatric inpatient care facilities for young people”.
The Acting CEO Eoin Culliton told The Journal that the unit was able to partially reopen on Friday 2 May, “on a phased basis”.
It’s understood that three inpatients returned, with the other six still receiving care either over-the-phone, or in other hospitals.
“This was an unexpected and distressing situation for our residents in the Adolescent Unit, their families and staff.
“We have plans to build a new hospital, as previously announced; the timeline on this development is not finally in place,” Culliton added.
He said that the damage to the entire unit was not extensive.
The Mental Health Commission, the Health and Safety Authority and the HSE were informed of the fire and the evacuation.
The Mental Health Commission told The Journal that it cannot comment on matters which may be the subject of ongoing regulatory enforcement as it could prejudice further actions the commission may take.
St Vincent’s proposed plans in 2023 to build 785 apartments, with the intention being that the sale and rent of these would then fund the building of a brand new mental health facility.
That plan hasn’t progressed past the planning stage, though the hospital indicated in a recent submission to the council that it intends for the construction of the apartments to begin later this year.
St Vincent’s is a voluntary hospital, which receives most of its funding from the HSE.
A voluntary hospital is a non-profit private hospital, which is mostly funded by the state.
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I bough basil, thyme, parsley, mint and coriander in Lidl and planted them outside and they are thriving. My herb shopping days are truly over.
IYou are lucky to get basil to thrive Derek,it can be a challenge in the Irish climate. As for mint, I hope you didn’t make the mistake of planting it in the open garden.
Both basil plants are sturdy and healthy looking thankfully and the mint, both of them got a bit of a pruning as they were growing to tall and stalky initially but doing well now. Is there something about mint I should know when grown outdoors?
I think mint plants tend to overtake flower beds. Like little Borg plants.
As Nicholas has touched on Derek, mint is an absolute thug, it will spread everywhere and is very difficult to control or eradicate. I would suggest you dig it out immediately and plant it in a pot, make sure you get every last bit.
As far as basil is concerned, it is unlikely to survive too long in the open ground in Ireland, too wet too dull and too cold. It needs to be in a pot in a sunny spot.
Sorry, I should have got what you meant, the mint is spreading all right but I do grab a few leaves for the kitchen and snip it back occasionally.
They spread their roots under ground and take over. Should have planted them in a container. On the plus side you’ll have plenty of mint next year.
That’s good to know, thank you, I’ll see about digging them out and potting them before they get out of hand.
the price of some native fruit here in the supermarkets is off the wall. when I think of my grandmothers garden and the stuff she used to grow. literally hundreds of Euro worth of stuff at today’s prices and at the time we didn’t think anything of it.
Great tips there, never heard of pine mouth before. Any way of knowing if the pine nuts are contaminated before you eat them? I love pine nuts, especially roasted in salads.
I had a bout of pine mouth a few years ago, was nasty and lasted about a week. It’s one of those things that isn’t really understood but anecdotally is thought to come more from imported Chinese pine nuts.
I haven’t touched pine nuts since either as it takes a few days to develop do there’s no way to tell if it’s coming.
Every drug dealers nightmare. A marijuana plant facing their house.
They grow very well in the tomatoe patch, just make sure your garden wall is high enough for a healthy plant to hide behind ;)
when i lived abrod i tryed to grow maruana but i kiled it by acident nd tryed to smoke dog poo insted lol. it is bad.
Sounds like a random thing you’d do anyway Ripper..
anonymous accounts can be funny at times but please give it a rest. there’s an open mic night near the HA penny bridge if you want to give reality a go
tank u jimmy. kevin will u go with me plz?
I love thyme and some other herbs and have tried to grow them in pots or window boxes but they didn’t last very long and were very poor to begin with. I must be doing the same caring things because I have tried a few times and failed. Very frustrating ! When my daughter moved house there was a beautiful Rosemary bush grown in the garden. Nice bonus !
I just checked the area under my nose and I found three varieties of herb.
A wash might help that, lol.
The live herb plants in supermarkets are really cheap and on par price wise with the few sprigs you get on the cellophane.
More of these please!
I had a rosemary bush in my garden every now and then I would spot a lady going into my garden and taking a snippet. The scent of rosemary was lovely but the bush became too much and I got rid of it.
I saw rosemarys bush one time,messy
Will someone tell me why no one grows Artemisia abrotanum (southernwood, lad’s love, southern wormwood) as it is as powerful smelling as any herb and no one grows it in their herb garden as it repels certain insects but is not for eating but a powerful smelling plant.
Borage is good for bees and a tea is made from the leaves that has herbal properties…
I have lovage as it smells nice and winter savory but never used them to cook with, some herbs can be nice just to have them due to what they smell like. With rosemary and hyssop which I grow as a flowering plant as well, these herbs can shoot up your blood pressure, so care needed there?
have your say