Mental Hospital Move To Prison Rejected

Plans to relocate the Central Mental Hospital to a new prison have been rejected by the opposition, who have been backed by the mental health commission.

The motion to co-locate the Central Mental Hospital at the Thorton Hall prison site has been pushed through by government ministers, and has faced outcry from the opposition benches.

Fine Gael have slammed the decision, saying the government have given patient care "the back seat".

Fine Gael's Health Spokesman, Dr James Reilly TD, said: "It is clear the Government blew an enormous amount of taxpayers' money on the purchase of the Thornton Hall site and in an attempt to cover their wastefulness they continue to ignore expert advice, at the cost of patient care."

Last month a document released by the Mental Health Commission said the Thorton Hall site was not an appropriate location for the mental hospital.

The document said the site was "not in the best interests of patients, and is not conducive to patient rehabilitation and recovery".

The Commission said it fully supported the replacement of the current Central Mental

Hospital with a purpose-designed, modern facility, which promotes patient safety and dignity. However the Thornton Hall proposal was not suitable for a number of reasons, including promote of "isolation and exclusion of the population".

The Fine Gael minister added: "The decision to co-locate the hospital at the new prison was not based on a cost-benefit analysis but is the Government's attempt to extract maximum worth from a site acquired in a bad deal. All concerns regarding the impact of the move on patients have been ignored."

(DW/JM)