Naughten tells Dail Galway psychiatric unit is "accident waiting to happen"

The litany of failures identified in an internal health & safety audit of the acute psychiatric unit at University Hospital Galway has been described in the Dáil this afternoon as an 'accident waiting to happen', by Denis Naughten TD.

Raising the issue with Health Minister Dr James Reilly, Deputy Naughten said: “The report points out that up to a third of staff had not completed the required training in fire safety, with a fifth of staff not complying with mandatory training in aggression and violence”.

The report goes on to state that 'as a result of recent cost containment, not all staff have attended or been given the opportunity to attend mandatory training'.

The audit also highlights the fact that not all members of staff had a personal panic alarm in cases of emergency and this lack of availability extended to visiting health professionals. The report expressed concern that the personal alarm system itself had an eight second delay from activation time to alarm time. It went on to point out that not all members of staff are aware of this delayed response.

The conditions in the facility itself were also criticised. This included the perennial problem with leaks in the roof which led to 'a water mark close to the electrical connections' at one location and the removal of a bed from a bedroom with a leak in another part of the unit.

Addressing the Dáil Denis Naughten said: “However, it is not just one bed. A number of beds have been moved over the last six months due to the on-going problem with the leaking roof. One of these beds is in the women's ward and it is known as the bed with a bucket. Patients use towels and sheets on the floor to soak up the water rather than have to listen to the continuous drip, drip, drip into a bucket. If that were happening in Guantanamo Bay it would not be acceptable, yet it is happening in an acute psychiatric unit in this country.

“It should be pointed out that a delegation of public representatives expressed concerns last February at a visit to the unit, when beds had also been moved due to leaks in the roof. The report also criticises the lack of facilities for patients with the activities area closed where the grass in the only outdoor recreation area ‘had not been cut for a number of weeks’,” stated Denis Naughten.

In its recommendations the audit states 'activities area should remain open during the day and meaningful activities should be available to patients at weekends and after hours to prevent patient boredom'.

Deputy Naughten also pointed out to Minister Reilly that based on discussions with staff and patients that the level of care required of patients is not being provided due to overstretched resources which is leading to a situation where close to half of all patients in the unit are involuntary admissions, which is five times the national average

Commenting on the report itself Denis Naughten said: “Having read the report in its entirety, I believe that the lack of adequate staff protection against aggression, combined with the condition of the building and the reports of patient boredom in what is an acute psychiatric unit, is a recipe for a very serious incident'.

'These failings can only be adequately addressed if the new 50 bed unit on the site of University Hospital Galway is constructed and home-based treatment teams are rolled out across Counties Roscommon and Galway. In the interim, at a very minimum in the interests of patients and staff, the new state-of-the-art facility at St. Luke’s in Ballinasloe should be reopened pending the completion of this project,' concluded Denis Naughten.