The HSE has insisted that the closure of a care facility for elderly patients with mental health problems in Cork is in the patients’ best interest.

The 42 patients currently being cared for at Heatherside Hospital in Buttevant are to be transferred to St Stephen’s Hospital in Glanmire, a psychiatric hospital some 40 miles away.

Yesterday the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) said that nurses at Heatherside ‘are genuinely fearful for the wellbeing of their client group of 42 elderly patients with enduring mental illness, many of whom have been cared for at the hospital for over 50 years’.

The INO said that the HSE had not given patients or staff a choice about the move, but had instead decided to close the facility ‘in the absence of expert inspection/examination by the relevant authorities’.

However according to the HSE South, Heatherside is an old remote facility dating back to 1909 that ‘falls short of the requirements to meet current residential care standards and would require significant and ongoing capital investment to meet fire and safety regulations, which cannot be justified both in terms of the environment, which is not appropriate for the residents, and on any value for money assessment’.

It said that the residents are to be moved to two vacant wards in St Stephen’s Hospital.

“The two wards provide a much more pleasant environment, providing each resident with their own room, and are in much better condition requiring no substantial works in advance of patients transferring,” the HSE South said.

It also pointed out that while Heatherside is located in north Cork, it actually caters for the needs of the South Lee population. Only two of the 42 residents are from the north Cork area, with the remaining 40 residents from the South Lee area.

“The two residents from north Cork have been offered a place in a residential facility in the north Cork area but have also expressed no objection to a transfer with the service. Families of the patients have been briefed on the plans and will be kept up to date on all developments in this regard,” the HSE South said.

It noted that the relocation will enable the enhancement of current services for the residents and it will also result in cost savings through the implementation of new rosters, which can only be put in place in the new location.

“The decision to relocate the patients is very timely as the building can no longer meet their needs or the requirements of new standards and regulations that the HSE must adhere to. We will ensure we maximise employment opportunities for the staff in north Cork and look at redeployment where necessary. Discussions in this regard are currently underway with both staff and unions and it is not anticipated that there will be any redundancies,” the HSE South added.