‘Genuine engagement’ with HSE head over Owenacurra Centre is welcomed

Cork councillor Liam Quaide has welcomed “a very genuine engagement” with the Chief Executive of the HSE Bernard Gloster regarding the future of the Owenacurra Centre in Midleton.

Both Independent Councillor Liam Quaide and Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan met with Mr Gloster to request a comprehensive, community-integrated residential mental health service plan for the region that accords with A Vision for Change, the HSE’s Model of Care for People with Severe and Enduring Mental Illness and Complex Needs and the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

Cllr Quaide and Deputy Hourigan also called for an interim residential provision that will maintain an acceptable level of service locally while new premises are being built/acquired would be an essential part of such a plan.

Concerns were raised during the meeting about proposals in the HSE Capital Plan to rebuild continuing care mental health facilities on the grounds of St Stephen's Hospital in Glanmire and St Finbarr's Hospital, which Cllr Quaide said are at odds with the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

He said the locations of these hospital campus settings are cut off from communities and that the plan would be retrograde in respect of the rights of people with the highest level of dependency to live in community settings, as the Owenacurra Centre residents have done for up to 34 years.

Cllr Quaide and Deputy Hourigan requested during the meeting that the considerable capital funding planned for investment in hospital campus continuing care/rehabilitation mental health facilities at these hospitals be redirected to community-integrated residential settings in major towns in Cork County.

The meeting with Mr Gloster was organised in response to concerns that Cllr Quaide raised publicly about the Owenacurra Centre closure being escalated to the HSE Board only to be repeatedly referred back to local management for essentially the same briefings.

“I felt there was a very genuine engagement with our concerns on Mr Gloster’s part. 

"He was not in a position to make commitments today as he needed to consult with other stakeholders but he heard us out and it was clear he took us seriously,” Cllr Quaide said.

“It was significant that he pledged to visit the Owenacurra Centre to meet residents and staff. 

"He will also visit St Stephen’s Hospital, Glanmire as we raised related concerns about proposals to build a 50-bed continuing care/rehabilitation mental health unit on that isolated campus.

“We believe this capital funding should be redirected into the development of community residences in our major towns such as Cobh and Youghal, as per A Vision for Change.

“St Stephen’s will also be one of the main residential alternatives for people from East Cork with placement needs who do not have a local service available to them due to plans to close Owenacurra,” he said.