Former Mount Carmel patients to become independent again at Attard community hostel

Health Minister Chris Fearne, together with the Richmond Foundation, yesterday launched the first community hostel for women with mental health problems.

The Attard house will accommodate up to 10 female patients in single or double rooms. The residence features all the necessary facilities, including en suite bathrooms, a dining room, a sitting room, a wash room and a garden.

The aim is to accommodate women who have been living in Mount Carmel Hospital for a long time and who have lost the ability to live on their own. Patients will be under constant watch and will relearn certain abilities, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping and planning ahead, together.

Mr Fearne said community hostels were the preferred way of dealing with mental care. This was possible through collaboration between the government and NGOs, in this case the Richmond Foundation. “Some patients have been staying at Mount Carmel for so long that they have become unable to live on their own. This is how they can be helped to reintegrate in society.”

Richmond Foundation CEO Stephania Dimech thanked the government for its support. She explained that the foundation covered the capital cost, with the government paying for the services offered to patients.

This is the third community foundation run by the government and the Richmond Foundation. The government also collaborates with another NGO, Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem, with another hostel.