TD critical of decision to temporary close West Cork mental health facility

A Cork TD has criticised the temporary closure of Saol Nua, an eight-bed community mental health residence in Coolnagarrane, Skibbereen.

An HSE spokesperson told The Echo: “Saol Nua community residence in Skibbereen is not closing; its four residents are temporarily moving to an adjacent residence, Perrott House, with access to the same level of mental health services.

“Perrott House and Saol Nua are both community residences. No differentiation is made in the level of care delivered to the residents of both.”

They added that care is provided by the same team and both residences offer residents liberty to move freely as well as access Skibbereen town.

Refurbishment

They explained that West Cork Mental Health Services has completed a comprehensive refurbishment of the acute admissions unit at Bantry, which has reopened for assessment and admissions. 

The spokesperson said: “This reopening will ensure that people in the West Cork area can avail of an assessment and acute admission at any time of the day or night, if and when the need arises.

“As an interim measure to facilitate the reopening of this vital acute admission service, the decision was made to temporarily redeploy staff rostered in Saol Nua.”

They explained that on July 26 the four residents of Saol Nua were offered alternative accommodation.

They added: “Cork Kerry Community Healthcare would like to reiterate that this is a temporary measure, which we expect will be addressed once recruitment campaigns to address current staffing vacancies are completed.”

Devastating

Holly Cairns, leader of the Social Democrats and TD for Cork South West, said: “This was a long-scheduled reopening, and staffing decisions should have been made long in advance without the need to reallocate staff from Saol Nua. The decision to temporarily close Saol Nua is devastating for the four residents who called Saol Nua home and to the regular respite patients who access the centre.”

She also criticised “a clear lack of regard given to residents and staff in the process, with less than a week’s notice of temporary closure”.

While the four residents will be moved to Perrott House, she said: “I have been told they will be moving from single-bed accommodation to shared bedrooms. This loss of privacy, as well as the loss of the staff who they have built up trust and caring relationships with, is incredibly disruptive to vulnerable patients.”

Ms Cairns added: “With the amalgamation of residential beds across the services, this will no doubt have an impact on the availability of respite services in the area. There is already a severe lack of respite services available in Cork, and the loss of any existing services would be devastating for residents and their families and carers. This went unaddressed in the HSE’s statement and needs urgent clarification.”