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	THE living conditions imposed on vulnerable psychiatric patients belonged to the Victorian era. Four patients were lying in bed surrounded by just blankets. Others were pacing the corridor.</h2>
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	Their bedroom was a gloomy dormitory and daily life for some was spent behind the door of a locked ward.</p>
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	The scene left inspectors who made an unannounced visit to the Carraig Mor unit in Shanakiel, Cork, last April so shocked they described it as &quot;akin to that of another century&quot;.</p>
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	Their damning report said the &quot;care unit provided an institutionalised and socially impoverished environment for residents&quot;.</p>
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	Four residents, by their own choice, were lying on beds &quot;completely encased in blankets&quot; and staff paid no heed to this or did not pass comment during the inspection.</p>
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	&quot;The dormitory accommodation was akin to that of another century,&quot; the report from the Mental Health Commission revealed.</p>
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	Other damning findings showed:</p>
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	* Patients endured a lack of privacy in the bathrooms or lavatories in the male areas of the wards.</p>
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	* Many of the residents , whose age extended to 78, were in the unit for a long time and showed signs of institutionalised behaviour.</p>
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	* Some residents were confined to a locked ward for the greater part of the day and did not have access to a garden.</p>
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	* Many residents were pacing the corridor, four were lying on their beds and others were watching television.</p>
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	* While a nurse provided activities, there was little evidence of this at the time of inspection.</p>
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	Checking on the progress of their last visit, the inspectors found there was still no psychologist in place &ndash; although one was due to start on a part-time basis in May. All of the patients, except one, had an individual care plan but the inspectors expressed concern that all episodes of restraint were not recognised as such by staff or recorded properly.</p>
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	The residents spoke of their satisfaction with the food, new TVs and outings. But they voiced concern about the lack of privacy using shower and lavatories as well as the lack of access to a public phone.</p>
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	Mental Health Commission Chairman John Saunders said it sharply highlights how mental health services here were still in a state of transition, with a huge need for improvement.</p>
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	The HSE acknowledged the findings and said some improvements had already been made, while others would be &quot;addressed as quickly as possible&quot;.</p>
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	A separate report on the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum found the main area was an old building and difficult to maintain.</p>
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	Plans were progressing to re-locate the hospital to the site of St Ita&#39;s Hospital, Portrane, in north Co Dublin, in the hopes of opening the new facility in 2016.</p>
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	Inspectors who visited the adult psychiatric unit at Kerry&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1em;">Gener</span><span style="font-size: 1em;">al Hospital</span>&nbsp;found one child was inappropriately resident there.</p>
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	&quot;The child was availing of educational services. The child had been resident in the approved centre for a very short period of time and was still undergoing clinical assessment.&quot;</p>
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	A child was also admitted to the adult psychiatric unit at Connolly Hospital in Dublin last January, according to another report.</p>
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	An inspection of the&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1em;">Jonath</span><span style="font-size: 1em;">an Swift</span>&nbsp;Clinic in St James&#39;s Hospital found a number of medication errors were discovered from the examination of prescription booklets.</p>
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	The inspectors set out an action plan for each unit which will be examined at the next visit.</p>
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	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/psychiatric-patients-left-in-victorian-era-conditions-29466918.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/psychiatric-patients-left-in-victorian-era-conditions-29466918.html</a></p>
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