LONG-TERM residents of Perrott House in Skibbereen, who feared they were about to be relocated to Cork, have received reassurances from the Health Service Executive.
Families of the five residents – four male and one female – were told recently that fire safety requirements would necessitate remodelling of what is a Community Mental Health Team facility.
One family member explained that Perrott House, which is located on the grounds of Skibbereen Community Hospital and has 24-hour nurse staffing, has been home to their elderly parent for the last 25 years.
They said a move – believed was to be 100km away at St Stephen’s Psychiatric Hospital in Glanmire – would be disorientating and distressing for their elderly relatives.
Speaking to The Southern Star, families complained of feeling frustrated because they have not been given any definite information despite repeatedly asking for updates.
One relative said it was only after Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins raised the matter in the Dáil, last Thursday, that they got two calls back from Perrott House, neither of which explained what was to happen, or when.
Then, in a follow-up call, on Friday, the woman said a HSE staff member told her that the five residents at the 15-bed facility would not be moving to Glanmire, but offered no further information.
Deputy Collins raised the matter with Tánaiste Simon Harris and he gave the TD an assurance that the Department of Health would engage with the HSE to ensure that the family engagement strategy is in place.
Last week, Deputy Collins has come out swinging saying: ‘You wouldn’t treat livestock the way the HSE is treating Perrott House residents.’
For weeks, he said, the families were ‘living within a vacuum of information that is totally contrary to national and legislative care standards and basic human decency.’
Deputy Collins said: ‘The era where State bodies treat mental health residents with impunity, particularly the elderly, is long past. Residents are not livestock that can simply be transported from one location to another without intense engagement and direct consent.’
On Tuesday the health service issued a statement saying: ‘There are no plans to close Perrott House.’
The spokesperson did confirm that a recent fire safety inspection highlighted several areas in need of attention, but said they are addressing immediate concerns through a programme of remedial works and by providing equipment and training for staff.
‘These works can be done with the residents in situ so none of the current residents will need to move from Perrott House due to these works,’ she said, adding that a steering group had been set up to review care needs at the facility.
