A MAN in his early 50s is reported to have chained himself to a bed at a geriatric hospital in Waterford city yesterday morning in protest at HSE plans to close a 19-bed ward at the facility.
Ferrybank man Sean Brett, whose elderly mother is a patient at St Patrick’s Hospital but not on the ward threatened with closure, claimed the loss of the beds could put lives at risk.
Plans by the HSE to close the first floor St Brigid’s ward at the only geriatric hospital in the city and county has attracted much criticism locally in recent months.
The HSE maintains the closure is vital for health and safety reasons. It says there will be no loss of beds as it will contract beds in private nursing homes instead.
Furthermore, it says patients in St Patrick’s Hospital will not be moved out. Only new patients will go to these contracted nursing home beds.
“The HSE has outlined previously that this decision is rooted in the new standards laid out by the Health Information Quality Authority which come into effect next July,” a spokeswoman said.
Previously, the executive admitted that some patients would be temporarily relocated to nursing homes.
A security presence was placed at the hospital yesterday and reporters were denied access to the building. Mr Brett released himself from the bed following negotiations with gardaí.
However, Mr Brett last night remained at the ward, according to a hospital source, who contradicted reports that he had also engaged in a hunger strike.
The HSE in a statement said it very much regretted that “an incident” occurred at St Patrick’s Hospital yesterday morning “due to the inappropriate action of one individual”.
It added: “No individual handcuffed themselves to a bed as has been reported and the HSE is not aware of any hunger strike”.
Mr Brett, in a letter circulated as he began his protest, claimed the closure of the beds for high-dependency patients was a cost-cutting measure by the HSE.
“Nursing homes do not cater for such high-dependency patients,” he wrote.
“St Patrick’s is a working hospital, not a nursing home,” he added. He said that high-dependency patients such as stroke victims were “very frail” and would “suffer as a result of this closure”.
Liz Cullen, local industrial relations officer with the Irish Nurses Organisation, said the incident at the hospital reflected how upsetting the closure of the ward was for patients, their relatives and staff. She said talks on the issue were scheduled to take place at the Labour Relations Commission on June 16th.