THE DECISION to transfer residents of a psychiatric hospital in Dublin from an open to a locked ward over Christmas was not in their best interests and should not happen again, a Mental Health Commission report has said.
The report, prepared following an inspection at St Brendan’s Hospital in Dublin on December 20th last, found the transfer of five residents had resulted in the closed unit “being at full capacity”.
“Residents whose needs ranged from high dependency acute care to rehabilitation were mixed together and being cared for in an already cramped setting,” it said.
There was public disquiet last Christmas when it became known that five residents at St Brendan’s were going to be transferred from an open ward to a locked ward over the holiday period because of staff shortages. Despite concerns raised by patient advocate groups, the transfer went ahead.
The report, published by the commission yesterday, said inspectors visited the hospital after the patients had been transferred. Staff told them 40 nursing posts had been lost in the catchment area since September 2011. Combined with the recruitment freeze, it meant there was insufficient staff available over the holidays to cover all wards.
The residents were informed four or five days before the transfer that they were to be moved and all five were “at liberty to leave the ward at any time”, although only two residents did so because of medical difficulties. One resident was offered the choice of a bed in another facility and declined, the report said. On the day of inspection one of the residents had gone shopping.
“It was clear from the files that the only purpose of the transfer was to accommodate a staff shortage,” the report said.
It said inspectors were satisfied the transferred residents knew the staff and were “well cared for” in the closed unit, but “it was a very unsatisfactory arrangement”.
The decision to transfer was contrary to the code of practice governing the centre, the report said, and was not in the best interests of the residents.
“It is recommended that residents should not be transferred to alleviate a staff shortage,” the report concluded.
In a separate report from the commission, St Senan’s Hospital in Enniscorthy was found to be “totally unsuitable for residents with an intellectual disability”. The hospital, which is due for closure next year, housed 48 residents when inspected.
