Mental health unit closes but work set to continue

AN ambitious plan to renovate the Centre for Mental Health Care and Recovery in Bantry will mean a short term closure of the building, but services will continue, according to a spokesperson for Cork Kerry Community Healthcare.

The completed project will provide a quality service into the future, and allow the health authority to meet its regulatory obligations, the spokesperson told The Southern Star.

The spokesperson said they have confirmed to patients and staff that the centre will immediately stop taking admissions and current patients will move from the centre this week.

‘We apologise for this disruption, which cannot be avoided, and we are committed to making sure that the disruption is for as short a period as possible,’ she added.

The spokesperson said they are in contact with in-patients to let them know where they will move, and they have also updated the staff. She said staff will either remain working on campus, or will temporarily work within mental health services in the West Cork area.

During the temporary closure of the centre, new admissions from West Cork will be admitted to the acute mental health unit at Cork University Hospital; St Michael’s Unit, Mercy Hospital in Cork, and other acute inpatient units in Cork Kerry Mental Health Services. Assessments will be completed in the West Cork Mental Health service, located in the Bantry Primary Care Centre. However, where there is a required need, assessments can also be carried out in people’s homes.

The existing weekly outpatient clinics in Bantry and Clonakilty will continue. The outreach weekly clinics in Schull, Castletownbere and Dunmanway will also continue. The consultation service for Bantry General Hospital will continue in its current format Monday to Friday, and there will also be a NCHD and consultant psychiatrist available for consultations on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.

The work, which started last week, is expected to be completed by February.