This article is from page 2 of the 2005-11-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
Those admitted to Bushy Park centre on the outskirts of Ennis are subjected to a rigorous course of treatment over a four- week period.
According to the centre’s Director, Margaret Nash, treatment centres such as Bushy Park have a 75% success rate. Open since 1991, the centre has treated 1,800 people to date for addiction prob- lems, with the vast majority of those ad- dicted to alcohol.
Ms Nash said that, in a typical day at Bushy Park, “The residents would rise at 7.30 and have breakfast. Medita- tion would go from 9am to 9.45am and group therapy would take place from 10 am to 11.30am. Between 11.30 am and 12.30pm, residents would meet with counsellors or do their own writing and
from 12.30 to 1.30, lunch takes place. Residents then have book reading at 2pm, such as the AA book, more coun- selling from 2.30 to 4 and group therapy from 4 to Spm’.
The centre is funded through Clare- care, but apart from support from the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Probation and Welfare Service, it is self- financing.
A four-week course of treatment at Bushy Park costs €4,200 and medical insurance through BUPA and the VHI covers the costs.
“We don’t turn anyone away because of lack of finance,” said Ms Nash.
Twenty people are employed at the cen- tre, including five full-time counsellors and two part-time ones. Ms Nash said that the ratio of resident to counsellor is three to one, which she said is quite low.
Ms Nash expressed frustration at the lack of opportunities to source Govern- ment funding: “The Government talks about problems associated with alcohol, but there are no sources of funding for Bushy Park to get at.”
Bushy Park is to launch a fund-raising drive for their €2m expansion.
‘For a lot of people who come here, it is a turning point in their lives and there would be a lot of goodwill towards us and I would be hoping that we would be able to tap into that.”
Meanwhile, all proceeds from a con- cert at University Concert Hall, Limerick on Friday, December 2 featuring Finbarr Furey, Mickey Dunne and Mick Hanley are to go to Bushy Park, and 20% of all proceeds from an exhibition featuring prominent Irish artists, opening at Tho- mas Street, Limerick on December 10.