Mental Health Commission finds 100% compliance in two inpatient centres
We have this morning published inspection reports on three inpatient centres, two of which - both located in Dublin - achieved 100% overall compliance rates for the second year in a row.
A third centre, located in Mayo, received two moderate risk non-compliance ratings, which the approved centre addressed promptly through the corrective and preventative process of the MHC.
The Inspector of Mental Health Services, Dr Susan Finnerty, said that while one of the centres had a slight decrease in overall compliance, two centres had maintained a perfect rating. “This is the second year in succession that both St Edmundsbury Hospital in Lucan and Willow Grove Adolescent Unit - both of which form part of St Patricks Mental Health Services - have secured a 100% compliance rating on our inspection. This is a credit to the management and staff at the centre, and the standard of facilities and care they provide to service users.”
The Chief Executive of the Mental Health Commission, John Farrelly, praised the two centres in question for their consistent exceptional rates of compliance, and added that “the third centre engaged promptly with the MHC and is now compliant with the regulations for which it had received a moderate risk rating on inspection”.
Overall compliance at Willow Grove Adolescent Unit located in Dublin remained at 100%. The centre is a 14-bed dedicated standalone unit located within the grounds of St. Patrick’s Hospital. The unit operates independently of the adult service and provides treatment to young people aged from 12 to 17 from all over Ireland. All bedrooms in the unit are single and include en-suite and shower facilities. It provides therapeutic services which include counselling and clinical psychology, occupational therapy, family therapy and social work. There is adequate communal areas and residents had access to an adjacent gym and outdoor recreational facilities. There is also a school attached to the unit. At the time of the inspection, there were eight inpatients.
There were no conditions attached to the registration of this approved centre at the time of inspection and no escalation and enforcement actions.
St Edmundsbury Hospital is a 52-bed approved centre located within large grounds in Lucan, Co. Dublin and is also part of St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services with shared management structures with the larger service. The centre is a renovated, refurbished 19th-century Georgian house.
As part of the St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services pandemic plan, St. Edmundsbury Hospital is closed to admissions since March 2020 and instead has set up to cohort residents from St. Patrick’s Hospital, who were isolating, as they were suspected as having COVID-19.
At the time of the inspection, there were two residents in the centre and 48 residents were being provided with care through home care packages. The centre’s homecare service was named the Mental Health Initiative of the year at the Irish Healthcare Awards 2020 and consists of a wide range of quality initiatives incorporating the pillars of a wellness programme. All the residents had access to a multi-disciplinary community mental health team and an appropriate mix of therapeutic programmes to address identified needs.
Overall compliance has remained at 100% for the past two years; there were no conditions attached to the registration of the centre at the time of inspection; and there were no escalation and enforcement actions since the previous inspection.
St Anne’s Unit is a single storey building adjacent to the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar, County Mayo. There are four single bedrooms and two four-bedded rooms, the latter with adjoining bathroom facilities. None of the single rooms offered an en-suite facility. There were three residents at the 12-bed facility at the time of the inspection.
Overall compliance increased by three per cent to 93% in 2021, compared to the rate at the previous inspection. There were no conditions attached to the registration of the centre at the time of inspection.
The inspectors identified two moderate risk-rated non-compliances related to individual care planning and premises. The centre was non-compliant with the regulation related to premises because ligature points were not minimised to the lowest practicable level, based on risk assessment and the resident profile which had changed in 2020.
In relation to the non-compliance with the regulation related to individual care planning, the two care plans inspected did not identify appropriate goals for the residents; one of the care plans did not identify the resources required to provide the care and treatment identified; and one of the care plans was not reviewed by the multi-disciplinary team and instead was reviewed by medical and nursing staff only.
Following corrective and preventative action measures, the MHC received a suitable response that the centre will take the required actions to bring the service into compliance with the moderate risks identified by the inspection.
You can read our full statement here.
Willow Grove Adolescent Unit Inspection Report 2021
