SENIOR DOCTORS and local politicians yesterday met the Taoiseach to discuss a surprise decision by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to close a 49-bed acute psychiatric unit at South Tipperary General Hospital.
The HSE told hospital management last week it had accepted the findings of the Mental Health Commission that St Michael’s unit was “not fit for purpose in caring for mental health patients”.
The HSE says the reform of the service is part of a €20 million programme for St Luke’s campus at the hospital, of which the acute unit is part. It says it is moving to close “outdated mental health institutions” and to develop “modern community-based mental health services” in line with the Vision for Change document – the national mental health reform strategy.
The second phase of the redevelopment of the campus includes closing the acute unit and introducing a 24-hour, seven-day home-based treatment team, which will treat any person in crisis. The HSE plans to transfer St Michael’s unit on a phased basis to the purpose-built department of psychiatry at St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny.