Mental health patients put at risk by lack of staff, watchdog warns

Staff shortages in the St Aloysius mental health ward in the Mater Hospital in Dublin pose a critical risk to patients, the State's Mental Health Commission has warned.

Senior managment told inspectors during an unannounced inspection in September that they would not have enough nurses for the two weeks afterwards, inspectors said.

Demanding immediate action,the Commission warned of a “potential serious incident”, adding that there has been no evidence of staff training at the unit, which has 15 registered residents.

Nurses’ records were kept separately from clinical files. The therapeutic services available were “not appropriate” to meet patients’ needs. Those that are available are offered inconsistently due to staff shortages.

Eight reports were published by the Commission under the Mental Health Act 2001.Three issues were rated at high risk for patients at the Sliabh Mis adult mental health admission unit at Kerry General Hospital.

The Tralee centre, with 39 registered residents, was inspected in early September: “Staff indicated it was not unusual for the unit to function at 100 per cent or greater capacity,” it said.

The report noted the delayed opening of a third intensive care unit, which had been recently built but still closed.

Since the previous inspection in February last year, 16 children were placed in the adult psychiatric unit. Inspectors rated this area a moderate risk for not complying with the code of practice as the centre was not suitable for children.

Food safety was highlighted as a high risk. Poor ventilation and overheating in the kitchens highlighted by environment health officers five years ago remains a problem.

Documentation provided to the inspection team indicated that funding was in place to remedy this hazard but the required work had not commenced and there was no start date,” it said.

Individual care plans for patients and maintenance of records were also put in the same risk category for being inconsistent and did not show involvement of the multi-disciplinary team or the resident.

University of Waterford’s department of psychiatry was also deemed to be a moderate risk and have breached to code of practice for admitting children.

The inspector examined the files of three children who were admitted recently and said there were no advocacy services for them as residents. The 44-bed unit, which includes 10-bed acute locked areas, had seven detained residents at the time of the inspection in August this year.