Action group says staffing of community psychiatry services in south Tipperary worse than ten years ago

The Save Our Acute Hospital Services Committee is to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the next steps in its long running campaign to restore acute psychiatric hospital beds to Clonmel that were lost ten years ago.

The campaign group welcomed the announcement of a €7m investment in providing 33 new acute medical beds at Tipperary University Hospital but criticised the ongoing situation of south Tipperary people requiring acute psychiatry beds having to go to Kilkenny as “completely unacceptable”.

And it claims the “Rolls Royce” community service that was promised to replace the closure of Clonmel’s St Michael’s Acute Psychiatric Unit in 2012 hasn’t been delivered. The group says the staffing of the community mental health service is now in “worse shape” a decade on.

Tipperary University Hospital’s 33 new general medical beds sanctioned funding in the HSE’s 2022 Capital Development Programme are to be located in the building where the former St Michael’s Acute Psychiatric Unit was based.

Since the closure of St Michael’s Unit in 2012, south Tipperary people with mental illness requiring inpatient admission to an acute psychiatric unit are required to go to St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny.

Psychiatrist Dr Alan Moore of the Save Our Acute Hospital Services Committee said moving the service to Kilkenny has caused a number of difficulties both for patients and their families, including bed shortages, delays, transport problems and a loss of contact with the local team looking after their care.

Dr Moore, who was formerly a consultant psychiatrist at St Michael’s Unit, said the Save Our Acute Hospital Services Committee remain adamant that acute psychiatry beds must return to Clonmel.

“This is in line with the overall shortage of psychiatry beds in the South East compared to the rest of the country and also consistent with the continuing expansion of Tipperary University Hospital.

“It is essential for the people of this area to have a local accessible facility where they can be safely assessed and if necessary admitted and looked after by familiar staff and visited regularly by family and friends,” he said.

“The closure of St Michael’s was acknowledged to be ‘a mistake’ by the Minister in charge of mental health, Jim Daly, in 2018, but to date there has been no movement in restoring the beds despite the ongoing suffering and inconvenience caused.”

Community services staffing

Dr Moore said he has been in contact with former colleagues who reminded him of the promises made by Minister Kathleen Lynch  and the senior HSE managers who were responsible for the closure of St Michael’s. 

“They promised us a ‘Rolls Royce’ community service as an alternative to the in-patient beds in Clonmel.

“Yet ten years on our community service is actually in worse shape from the point of view of staffing. We will not accept that,” he declared.

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