The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
‘No one will be forced out’ - St Mary’s manager
ST John of God management at St Mary of the Angels moved this week to assure the families of all residents that no one will be relocated into the community without full consent.
This followed a three-hour meeting with the newly-formed Parents’ Representative Group on Wednesday which St Mary’s General Manager Claire O’Dwyer described as constructive - allaying the fears of many.
Meanwhile, a HIQA report on the facility is expected to be published later this week in which St John of Gods anticipates issues with overcrowding at some of the bungalows on the site.
“St Mary of the Angels is not closing,” Ms O’Dwyer told The Kerryman on Tuedsay.
She apologised for the charity’s communication on the matter in recent weeks: “Our communication into how this was handled was poor and has led to people being frightened, upset and angry...I’m very apologetic for that.
“It is a very complex issue but I want to reassure families that St Mary’s is not closing and that no one will be relocated into the community without their consent.”
Families were left reeling over a fortnight ago as it emerged that moves were underway to relocate some residents into the community - on foot of the national policy to ‘decongregate’ settings like St Mary’s adopted by the HSE in 2011.
Minister McGrath added fuel to the fire last week in setting out his support for the policy in response to a question on St Mary’s.
Ms O’Dwyer said it is not the case St John of God is now seeking to relocate all of the residents there over the coming years.
But the charity has identified a house in the wider community it hopes to acquire in order to address overcrowding issues identified on the campus. And some families and residents have indicated their interest in the new house, Ms O’Dwyer said.
Much of the recent fears stem from a development plan St Mary’s carried out in 2014, which identified the units of St Brendan’s and St Fidelis as priorities for closure – amid bedroom privacy and fire safety concerns that were later echoed by the first HIQA reports.
“These units were the areas of most concern under the development plan. But that development plan was not an action plan, merely a point in time overview of the facility. The HIQA report gave us the leverage to take steps to address certain issues and I’m happy to report that we are now 100 per cent in compliance with fire safety regulations across the campus,” Ms O’Dwyer said.
“That has changed the picture for us in terms of our priorities now. Where does that leave us in terms of St Brendan’s and St Fidelis’s?
“We have another report coming out this week by HIQA, from an unnannounced inspection in the summer, and we are concerned about it.
“We have 22 residents living between three bungalows, with another 13 residents between two bungalows and when HIQA come in and look at the dignity and privacy of people it is going to report that there is overcrowding there,” Ms O’Dwyer said.
HIQA have commended the care given by staff at St Mary’s in something that has heartened all the facility, but overcrowding remains one of the key issues to address at present.
The HSE made a committment to fund the purchase of a house in the community early this year, with one now identified. St John of Gods has been in talks with some families for months already towards moving people into his house.
“We have had conversations and we have people who are interested,”
“I can reassure families that people will only move from the campus if it will improve or enhance their lives and it will only be done so with the consent.”
Ms O’Dwyer said the St John of God has no alternative plans for the Beaufort site: “When this plan came out it said that all congregated settings would be closed by 2017 and it is now 2016.
“The Minister said last week that 900 people would move by 2021, but there are over 2,200 in congregated settings at present,” Ms O’Dwyer added.