Staff at an acute psychiatric unit in Ennis have confirmed that drug use among patients has been a problem but said no such unit was likely to be “immune” from the issue.
Denis Meehan, a branch officer for the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association, works at the acute unit at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Ennis and said he was aware some patients had lodged complaints with hospital management about drug taking.
However, he stressed that the problem had been more pronounced in the past and that staff at the unit were dealing with the issue as and when it arose. “The thing about acute psychiatric units is that there is always going to be an element of illicit drug use with the nature of mental health illness.”
He said the policy at the 38-bed unit — which is currently full and has been for much of the past year — was that anyone found to be taking drugs was discharged.
However, he said “that’s not as easy as that”, given the mental health difficulties of some patients.
He said only a few CCTV cameras were employed within the unit because of consideration for patient privacy. He also said gardaí had carried out searches in the past of patients’ rooms and lockers but could only do so with a warrant.
Source: Noel Baker, Irish Examiner, 02/05/13
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