This article is from page 2 of the 2006-07-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
A LEADING consultant psychiatrist yesterday expressed his concern over the continuing admission of Clare children into a locked adult psychiatric unit in Limerick.
Dr Moosajee Bhamjee has predicted that it might be ten years before a dedicated child unit is in place.
He was speaking after the Irish Mental Health Commission recommended that children under the age of 16 be no longer admitted to Unit 5B at Limerick’s Midwestern Regional Hospital.
The recommendation of the Irish Mental Health Commission is the sixth year in succession that the annual mental health report for the government has urged against children being sent there.
As far back as 2002, the then Inspector of Mental Hospitals, Dr Dermot Walsh said that the admission of children into the unit was “a totally unacceptable situation and created problems both for the children and the staff”.
At the time, the Mid-Western Health Board confirmed that an outline brief for a new child and adolescent unit had been drawn up, though it warned that there might be insuf ficient funding for the project under the current National Development Plan.
Over a two year period, before alternative accommodation was identified last summer, Unit 5B accommodated a young autistic teenage Clare boy.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said yesterday, “there are currently no inpatients under 16 in the unit. A total of 7 patients under 16 years of age were admitted during 2005 and year to date 2006 there have been 6 patients admitted.
“In the interest of patient confidentiality, the HSE is not in a position to provide details on medical condition of these patients. “Pending the provision of dedicated facilities, patients under 16 years of age who require emergency acute treatment will continue to be admitted to Acute Unit 5B, with care arrangements appropriate to their needs.
A dedicated unit for children and adolescents is planned and the design team has been appointed to progress this development.”
However, according to Dr Bhamjee, “Talk around a new unit has been going around for years, but nothing has happened. It reflects very poorly on the mechanisms in place for progressing projects.
“Currently, there are 22 places for child and adolescents in child psychiatric units in the country. The recommendation is that there be 156 places in places so we are very long way off.”
Dr Bhamjee said that as an interim measure, a temporary unit should be established in the vacant Coovagh House in Limerick.