Blow as Minister backs closure of mental health unit

 The campaign to reverse the closure of a brand new €2.8 million acute mental health unit in Ballinasloe received a severe set-back this week when Junior Minister Kathleen Lynch gave full backing to the HSE West’s controversial decision.

 The Minister of State at the Department of Health ruled out any possibility of an independent review and said she accepted the controversial ‘points system’ used to shut down the 22-bed unit at St Brigid’s Hospital in favour of keeping an older facility at Roscommon County Hospital open.

Outrage has been expressed at the decision to close the brand new unit and a crowd of over 500 turned up at Gullane’s Hotel on Monday night to support the East Galway Mental Health Action Group campaign to keep it open.

Minister Lynch said she accepted the decision of the Expert Group, to shut down the Ballinasloe unit, as “the best option to enhance mental health services” across East Galway and Roscommon.

She said she explained her position to a delegation from East Galway at the Dáil on September 18 and HSE West would now carry out a consultation process in order to implement the plan as quickly as possible.

“The Minister wishes to point out that, contrary to recent media reports, an independent review was not agreed at the recent meeting. She accepts the recommendations of the Expert Group, and the approach being adopted to bring these to fruition,” said a statement from the Department of Health this week.

“Nor did the Minister agree that community based services should be put in place before the beds in St. Brigid’s close. Rather, the Minister pointed out that community services could only be enhanced on a transitional basis, as the staff from St. Brigid’s are re-configured from the existing services to the new community based services.”

She said the priority now was to “reach agreement locally” to implement the HSE (West) decision without delay.

Senior clinical staff in East Galway have maintained that the decision to close the new unit is “flawed” from a clinical governance point of view and went over the heads of HSE (West) management in calling for an independent review.

Read more in today’s Connacht Tribune