Thomas P. Broughan
Question:31 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement on his recent visit to the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum; and his plans for the future of the hospital. [6635/03]
Written Answers - Central Mental Hospital.
I was pleased to have the opportunity to visit the Central Mental Hospital last month and to meet its staff and patients. I was impressed with the work being done at the hospital and by the dedication of the staff who are carrying out their work in difficult physical conditions.
I accept that the physical conditions at the CMH are not satisfactory. As has been pointed out by the inspector of mental hospitals on numerous occasions, most of the old building is quite unsatisfactory for its current purpose and conditions in some parts of it are unacceptable. Since 1999 €500,000 has been spent on the refurbishment of the hospital but there is an acceptance by all parties that a more substantial redevelopment is required.
In December 2000 the East Coast Area Health Board, in conjunction with the Eastern Regional Health Authority, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and my Department established a group to advise on proposals for the future of the CMH. It took into account national and regional services provided by the hospital, linkages with community psychiatric services and with the criminal justice system, new mental health legislation, the training role of the CMH for medical, nursing and paramedical staff and future accommodation and resource requirements. The group concluded its work last year and its report was submitted to the ERHA and my Department. The report included plans to modernise, refurbish and extend the existing building at the CMH and to provide a new residence on the campus.
I have accepted, in principle, the main thrust of the report of the review group. Earlier this year I requested that the ECAHB establish a project team to progress the matter as quickly as possible.
This project team had its inaugural meeting on the morning of my visit on the 19 February. The team consists of representatives from my Department, the ERHA, the ECAHB, the Irish Prison Service and the health board chief executive officers. The team's remit will be to critically examine all options for the redevelopment of the hospital, including the proposals put forward by the review group, to put together a design brief for the redevelopment, and to examine various financing options for the project.