'Freezing' psych patients treated like 'second-class citizens', says family member
EXCLUSIVE: The HSE has been likened to Comical Ali for insisting there is no problem with heating at the Central Mental Hospital while staff hand out extra duvets to patients due to 'Baltic' conditions
Patients at the Central Mental Hospital are being treated like “second-class citizens” and their complaints about “Baltic” temperatures at the €220 million facility are going unheard, according to a family member of one person receiving treatment in Portrane.
Yesterday, the Irish Mirror exclusively revealed that patients were being provided with second duvets and wearing extra clothes at night in an effort to stay warm at the hospital.
Staff have made more than 100 formal complaints about extreme temperatures at the state-of-the-art facility since it opened in November 2022, and service reports show a series of issues with pumps, manifolds and heating coils in the system.
READ MORE:Patients at €220m Central Mental Hospital given extra duvets due to 'Baltic' room temperatures
Last year, all of the female patients at the hospital had to be evacuated from their ward and accommodated in a unit for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities after a ceiling collapsed as a result of leaks in the underfloor heating system.
However, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has repeatedly insisted that the heating system in Portrane is operating as required, and says there are “no ongoing issues” at the hospital.
A family member of a patient at the facility told the Irish Mirror that the HSE’s position was “laughable”, and claimed the health authority was too embarrassed to admit that it had spent €220 million on the hospital but can’t heat the rooms.
“I live in a crappy council house but when I turn on the boiler, my arse gets warm,” she said.
“They spent €220 million on a fancy hospital but they have to hand out extra bedding to stop patients freezing to death because the heat doesn’t work. It’s ridiculous,” the woman added.
“[My family member] is actually looking forward to the summer months so the nights won’t be so cold in Portrane. He has to wear his coat inside and can’t sleep some nights because he’s shivering with the cold.
“If they treated POWs like that, the HSE would be up before a court in The Hague. But these are mental patients, so they’ve less rights than POWs. They complain, but they can just be ignored.”
The woman, who did not wish to be identified for fear of retribution against her family member, likened the health authority to Comical Ali, the Iraqi official known for making statements at odds with reality during the Gulf War.
“They’re bombarded with complaints about freezing temperatures from staff who have to wear their coats indoors while dispensing medication,” she said.
“The ceiling was literally falling down around them because of a leak in the heating system, and they’re having to hand out extra duvets to the poor buggers on the wards.
“And yet there they are, insisting everything is fine; that the heating is just tickety-boo. They should spend a night in Portrane and see how fine it is,” she added.
A spokesman for the HSE told the Irish Mirror last week that the heating at the hospital has been operating “as per the specifications of the system”.
“The heating system in the Central Mental Hospital is operating as required,” he said.
“Individual patients may have preferences of temperatures they wish to have. These are managed within the heating system controls in each bedroom and these can be adjusted with limitations of six degrees by the patient.
“In some instances, patients have reported feeling the temperature is low and in other instances feeling the temperature is high. On review, the rooms have always been at the agreed temperature.
“We can affirm that the heating has been operating as per the specifications of the system and where a patient reports any concerns to staff of a temperature variation, these instances are examined,” he added.
Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
