A relative of one of those living in the Owenacurra Residential Mental Health Facility has blasted the government and the HSE for what she described as a "betrayal of the residents".
Maureen O'Sullivan was responding to the news that some residents of the Midleton facility are at various stages of being transferred to Unit 3 of St Stephen's Hospital outside Glanmire.
The Mental Health Commission published a daming report on the unit at Sarsfield Court last December, describing its' system of governance 'inexplicable' and stating concerns over fire safety issues.
Fire Safety Issues was one of the reasons given by the HSE for needing to close the Owenacurra Unit in Midleton.
It had been due to close in June of 2021, but has remains operational as new placments are found for its residents.
Speaking to RedFM News, the sister of one of the residents of the Midleton facility, Maureen O'Sullivan says St Stephen's Hospital is simply not suitable:
"It's one of state shock and a feeling of betrayal because we know that that residence has been heavily criticized by the Mental Health Commission and that it's not suitable for people who have lived in their own rooms for decades and also in the middle of a town as Midleton so to move somebody to a hospital setting, in a dorm setting in the middle of nowhere where they can't have the same quality of life, it's unforgivable."
