Inspection reports

MHC statement 29.08.24: publication of nine inspection reports

The Mental Health Commission (MHC) has published nine inspection reports for approved inpatient mental health centres across Dublin, Mayo, Galway, Tipperary, Limerick, and Waterford.

The centres inspected were:

  • the Grangemore centre at St Otteran’s Hospital in Waterford (which received 100% compliance with the rules, regulations and codes of practice for the fourth year in succession)
  • the Ashlin Centre at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin (97% compliance)
  • Haywood Lodge outside Clonmel in Co. Tipperary (94% compliance)
  • Tearmann Ward at St. Camillus’ Hospital in Limerick (93% compliance) 
  • the inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) facility at Merlin Park University Hospital in Galway (88% compliance)
  • the Phoenix Care Centre on the North Circular Road in Dublin (88% compliance)
  • St Anne’s Unit at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar, Co. Mayo (83% compliance)
  • the National Eating Disorder Recovery Centre (NEDRC) in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 (79% compliance)
  • Highfield Hospital on Dublin’s northside (75% compliance).

The inspector found varying levels of compliance with the rules, regulations and codes of practice. Four centres were between 90-100% compliant; a further three were between 80-90% compliant, while just two centres were between 70-80% compliant.

Some areas of good practice observed over the course of the inspections included strong leadership, and skilled, caring and committed staff at Grangemore, which was combined with a culture that fostered the development of care in collaboration with residents; a strong emphasis on staff training, retention and wellbeing at the Ashlin Centre, which enabled the safe, effective, and recovery-focused care and treatment that residents received; bright, welcoming, clean and well-maintained houses at Haywood Lodge, where resident and family feedback regarding care and treatment was very positive; and a management team at Tearmann Ward that were responsive to issues highlighted by the inspection team, and who took steps to mitigate and remedy same.

The critical and high non-compliances observed during the inspections were:

  • one critical risk non-compliance with the regulation on risk management procedures, and four high-risk non-compliances with the regulations on individual care planning; therapeutic services and programmes, premises, and staffing at St Anne’s
  • two high risk non-compliances with the regulations on risk management procedures, and the maintenance of records, at the National Eating Disorder Recovery Centre 
  • two high risk non-compliances with the rules governing the use of seclusion; and the code of practice on the use of physical restraint, at the inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) inpatient unit at Merlin Park
  • two high risk non-compliances with the rule governing the use of mechanical restraint; and the code of practice on the use of physical restraint, at Highfield Hospital
  • one high-risk non-compliance with the regulation on the ordering, prescribing, storing and administration of medicines at Haywood Lodge
  • one high risk non-compliance with the regulations on the maintenance of records at the Phoenix Care Centre

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 Inspection Reports

Link to the full statement: Mental Health Commission publishes nine inspection reports. 

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