Inspection reports

Mental Health Commission publishes five inspection reports

Mental Health Commission publishes five inspection reports

One approved centre receives 100% compliance for third consecutive year
 

*** An earlier version of this press release incorrectly stated that the AAMHU Galway had a high risk non-compliance with the regulation on privacy. It should have stated that the AAMHU Galway had a high-risk non-compliance with the use of CCTV. At the time of inspection, the centre was compliant with the regulation on privacy ***

The Mental Health Commission (MHC) has this morning published five inspection reports for approved inpatient mental health centres in Dublin, Galway, Mayo and Waterford.

The reports published today focus on St Patrick's University Hospital, Lucan (100% compliance for the third consecutive year); the Adult Acute Mental Health Unit, University Hospital Galway (94% compliance, an increase of 8% on 2022); the Adult Mental Health Unit at Mayo University Hospital (94% compliance, an increase of 5% on 2022); An Coillín in Castlebar, Co. Mayo (82% compliance, a 15% decrease on 2022) and Aidan's Residential Healthcare Unit in Waterford city (88% compliance, a decrease of 12% from 2022).

Quality initiatives observed during the inspections included the development of a ‘Medicines Information Access for Service Users’ initiative that enabled patient information to be accessed online which linked to information about various medications; personalised folders for residents which detailed the persons story, their likes and dislikes and photos of them and their loved ones; the introduction of a restrictive practices committee and revised seclusion and restraint pathways to meet the rights of patients; and the  introduction of a clinical pharmacist role that had resulted in a higher quality and safer service in terms of reducing medication error and the promotion of patient safety. 

Noting the increase in compliance ratings across two of the centres and 100% compliance in another, the Director of Regulation at the Mental Health Commission, Gary Kiernan said: “Year-on-year increases in overall compliance demonstrate marked improvements in standards in services which consequentially help to ensure that the safety and rights of patients are continually upheld. Service providers and their teams are to be commended for their efforts in achieving these improvements.” 

“However, high risk non-compliances identified with the regulations on CCTV, premises and risk management are particularly concerning as they impact on the safety, dignity and human rights of patients and are subject to the MHC’s continuous monitoring and enforcement processes,” he added. 
Non-compliances observed during the inspections included:

  • one high-risk noncompliance with the regulation with the use of CCTV at AAMHU, University Hospital Galway
  • two high-risk non-compliances for regulations relating to risk management and medication at Aidan's Residential Healthcare Unit
  • two high-risk non-compliances for the regulations on premises and risk management at An Coillín.

The MHC requires corrective and preventive action plans (CAPAs) from all services where non-compliances are identified, each of which must address each non-compliance specifically. The MHC monitors the implementation of these CAPAs on an ongoing basis and requests further information and action as necessary. Enforcement action is taken when the MHC is concerned that the care and treatment provided in an approved centre may be a risk to the safety, health, and wellbeing of residents, or where there has been a failure by the provider to address an ongoing area of non-compliance. All critical risk issues are considered by the MHC’s Regulatory Management Team (RMT) as a matter of course.

Enforcement actions commonly arise from inspection findings, quality and safety notifications, and compliance monitoring. Enforcement actions available to the MHC range from the aforementioned CAPAs (at the lower end of enforcement) to removing an approved centre from the register and/or pursuing prosecution (at the higher end).

Links to Individual Reports: 

Link to the full statement Mental Health Commission publishes five inspection reports

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