Renewed call for reopening of Co Galway mental health unit

Health and safety concerns over the Psychiatric Unit at University Hospital Galway have prompted fresh calls this week for a 22-bed acute unit in Ballinasloe to be reopened – at least until a new 50-bed unit has been built in the city.

Local representatives have claimed that the Galway facility, which was allocated ten extra beds in February, has been overcrowded at times since it began taking in patients from East and South Galway in the wake of the closure of the Ballinasloe unit earlier this year.

Cllr Tim Broderick claimed that “in excess of 20 issues” arose from a health and safety audit of the UHG unit by the HSE, including concerns that an activity centre for patients has remained closed during the recent spell of good weather.

He was told that the city unit was “close to overcrowding” in recent weeks, when staff were forced to accommodate up to 46 patients on busy weekends.

However, the HSE West has denied claims that the therapeutic activities unit has closed. A spokesperson confirmed that the capacity of the Galway unit increased from 35 to 45 in mid-February.

Cllr Broderick said the Mental Health Commission (MHC) had previously recommended a capacity of 35 patients at the UHG unit, and that “too much pressure” was being put on staff and patients since the transfer of acute patients from St Brigid’s Hospital in Ballinasloe.

The closure of the €3.1m acute psychiatric unit in Ballinasloe caused uproar throughout the East Galway area after it was announced in August of last year.

“The unit in Galway is creaking at the seams through no fault of the staff or patients,” he told the Connacht Tribune. “Until we have a new 50-bed unit in place, it is unfair on staff and patients in Galway to have to accommodate patients from Ballinasloe. People are falling through the cracks of the system.”

Cllr Broderick said he also had concerns over the construction of a new acute unit at a busy UHG site, as he suggested Merlin Park would be a lot better location for patients seeking residential care.

“The site identified for the new unit is totally inappropriate. The bottom line is that we all want a proper community-based service, but for those who do require residential care I would suggest that Merlin Park is a far more appropriate setting,” he said.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.