Calls have been made for a full review of conditions and resources at St Otteran’s Psychiatric Unit in Waterford following the death of a resident in a violent incident last night.
Tributes have also been paid to staff at the hospital for disarming and restraining the assailant in the attack and preventing an even worse tragedy.
The woman who died was Marie O’Brien who was in her early 50s and from Waterford city. She was fatally stabbed at about 7pm by a male resident.
Another resident, also from Waterford, was seriously injured as the events unfolded while a nurse working in St Otteran’s suffered facial injuries. Another nurse also came to the aid of the residents and had to use a chair to block himself from the assailant.
It is understood the deceased woman was a long-term resident of a separate residential unit on the grounds of St Otteran’s, as was the patient who received serious injuries.
The latter has been treated at Waterford Regional Hospital and was described this morning as “comfortable”.
A man arrested on the scene is understood to be a resident of the hospital’s rehabilitation unit.
The tragedy has caused shock in Waterford while investigations are under way by the gardaí as well as the HSE.
A postmortem on Ms O’Brien’s body was due to be carried out this afternoon by deputy state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis at Waterford Regional Hospital.
The scene of the incidents, both inside and outdoors on the grounds of St Otteran’s, has been preserved and a technical examination is being carried out by gardaí. The man arrested is expected to be detained at Waterford Garda Station, under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, until tonight.
Staff and residents at the hospital are being interviewed by gardaí who are attempting to put a firm timeline on events yesterday evening at the hospital on John’s Hill in Waterford.
Psychiatric Nurses’ Association general-secretary Des Kavanagh said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the incident, but praised the actions of nurses who “were extremely brave in restraining that man and disarming him”.
He described the event as “a tragedy for all concerned”.
He said the incident is the fourth death in a psychiatric facility in the last four years. The previous three took place in acute units.
“The vast majority of people we deal with are completely harmless,” Mr Kavanagh said. “There’s a very small minority that are violent and, unfortunately, that minority can cause havoc.”
Such incidents “are raising questions about what’s happening in the system,” he said. “We need to have a complete review of the implementation of [the mental health policy] Vision for Change with proper assessment and resourcing.
He said that, because of the public service recruitment embargo, about 25 per cent of psychiatric nursing numbers have been lost in the last four years - down from 5,600 to less than 4,200. “You can’t provide a proper mental health service without proper resources and staffing.”
Independent TD John Halligan, who lives nearby, offered his sympathy to the O’Brien family and to those injured and affected by Friday night’s events.
“We all know there’s been severe cuts in mental health services. There will have to be an investigation into how this happened.”
He said mental health services from Wexford were transferred to Waterford in recent years, following the gradual closure of the old psychiatric hospital in Co Wexford, but staff increases didn’t follow. “Now the same staff are doing the work of Wexford as well as the work of Waterford,” Mr Halligan said. “I’m not saying this incident wouldn’t have happened anyway, but it didn’t help.”