Families whose loved ones live in a mental health facility in Co Cork which is due to close next month are pleading with the HSE to keep it open with many saying the care and attention of staff has saved the lives of their relatives.
In June, it was announced that the 24-bed Owenacurra Centre is scheduled to close by the end of October due to HSE concerns about the building which has been deemed “not fit for purpose”.
The HSE announced the closure after its own building experts warned that the centre, which was constructed in the 1970s, was in very poor condition with major defects. The HSE said even if refurbishment took place, it could not guarantee the refurbished building would meet current building requirements or be fit for purpose.
However, relatives of individuals who live onsite say while the building is not ideal it is the only long-stay residential and respite adult mental health facility in east Cork.
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They are concerned that the 19 people who live there, many of whom have grown close over the years, will have their home taken from them and will be scattered in different places all over Co Cork.
One woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the centre had “saved my brother’s life”. She said her brother was diagnosed with an extremely challenging mental condition in his youth.
“He has been homeless. He has been in hospital and he has been missing. This was over a period of about 25 years. He ended up in the Owenacurra centre quite luckily and it has been the happiest few years of his life.
“It is a prefabricated building. But I tell you the residents don’t care that much about the size of their room. Just because the building has issues you don’t take the service away.
“For the first time he has friends. He has people like him. He shares experiences which we can’t give him. They have five meals and snacks together a day. A lot of people with mental health issues become withdrawn and this is a social outlet for him.”
Another woman, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said her sister who has lived onsite for close to three decades was devastated at the proposed closure of her home.
“This thing came out of the blue at the end of June. It took my sister years to settle in and to develop her confidence enough to communicate with the people around her. To be able to feel at ease enough to join in a group.
“All of that slow progress is being taken away from her. There is a really good service there. There is a caring ethos. They are fantastic. They were amazing during Covid. Nobody got Covid. The staff are exemplary.
“It is working well and giving residents good quality of life. If they said they had to rebuild the place and temporarily place residents elsewhere it would be something. But there is nothing.
“This is like a bomb going off in people’s lives. There are some problems with the building but there is nothing imminent or urgent that would require moving residents for their safety. I think they just want to close the place down.”
The HSE has contacted families to invite them to a meeting with staff next week.
Meanwhile, an emergency session of the Oireachtas sub-committee on mental health earlier this week was told of the concerns of patients and their families.
Liam Quaide, a local Green party councillor and clinical psychologist, said the sub-committee would write to the Mental Health Commission to convey the concerns raised by family members and it would write to Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler for an update on the proposed closure.
They also aim to hold a public meeting of the sub-committee on September 21st about the proposed closure.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, speaking in Cork recently, said it was his understanding that the HSE had been advised by the Mental Health Commission “in terms of the adequacy of the building in terms of its suitability as a physical space”.
He acknowledged the “very good work that has been undertaken in [Owenacurrra] in respect of people in the mental health community”.
“Any of those who avail of the services have spoken highly of the staff there. The HSE has said there will be a comprehensive consultation with users of the services and with their families before anyone is moved anywhere or provided with a service in an alternative direction and I will be in touch with the HSE to make sure that it’s patient centred and user-centred in terms of any steps the HSE takes to move on from Owenacurra.”
Fianna Fáil TD Anne Rabbitte, speaking on behalf of Ms Butler in the Dáil in June, emphasised that the HSE planned to work with residents to agree an appropriate alternative placement.
“The immediate priority of the HSE is to consult with residents and their families individually and to agree on appropriate alternative placement based on their assessed needs. Cork Kerry Mental Health Services have a plan for this, and management will also engage with staff and their representative bodies.”