THE CENTRAL Mental Hospital has told the Health Service Executive (HSE) it has no option but to cease admitting new patients due to staffing shortages.
The hospital has 25 nursing vacancies which cannot be filled due to the moratorium on recruitment in the public sector.
Its only option therefore, it says, is to close an entire unit with 16 beds and redeploy the staff. It plans to stop admitting new patients from June 15th.
The hospital sought an exemption from the moratorium on recruitment from the HSE to employ the additional staff required but was unsuccessful.
In a letter yesterday to Siptu, which represents the majority of staff at the Dundrum institution, the director of nursing at the hospital said the HSE had been told to inform the Department of Justice, the Irish Prison Service, the Attorney General and the Department of Health of the move as the hospital would no longer be able to comply with its obligations under the Mental Health or Criminal Law Insanity Acts.
Louise O’Reilly, Siptu’s national nursing official, said her members at the hospital were very concerned at the decision.
“Quite frankly we are dismayed at the decision, which has serious implications extending far beyond the hospital itself. The Central Mental Hospital is unique. It is the only forensic facility of its type in the State,” she said.
In a statement issued last night, the HSE said a submission by the hospital management was “under consideration” and no decision had been made on bed closures at the hospital. The challenge was to balance patient care with the moratorium, the statement added.