People who do not need psychiatric help are being admitted to psychiatric hospitals because there is nowhere else to place them, according to the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped in Ireland (NAMHI).
Ms Deirdre Carroll, NAMHI assistant general secretary, said a case in point was that of a 19year-old autistic woman who was being admitted to St Ita's in Portrane, Co Dublin, because there was no suitable place for her.
"St Ita's is not the right place for this girl. She is autistic with behavioural problems. But it's the only place that can be found," Ms Carroll said.
NAMHI, and relatives of the mentally disabled, have criticised the slow rate of progress in transferring patients with a mental handicap to more suitable accommodation. "St Ita's has 286 people with a mental handicap/intellectual disability living on the campus - 230 still in locked wards," Ms Carroll said.
She said the rate of progress was so slow it would take at least 10 years for residents to be transferred to more suitable accommodation. "In the meantime, there appears to be little evidence that there is any attempt to change the appalling living conditions of those who await new facilities. Indeed, there is evidence that the intake is increasing, rather than decreasing, further exacerbating the situation."
The Northern Area Health Board has rejected the criticism. It said there was a programme of upgrading and refurbishing of accommodation at St Ita's.
Ms Noreen Byrne, a spokeswoman for the health board, said a multi-million pound development plan was being implemented to cater for the remaining people with intellectual disability at St Ita's. This work should finish within five to six years.
On the issue of an autistic person being admitted to St Ita's, Ms Byrne said there was a range of services available in the region for autistic people. The Department of Health had agreed to fund a package to expand these.
Ms Annie Ryan, secretary of St Joseph's Association for the Mentally Handicapped, said St Ita's conditions for patients with a mental handicap were disgraceful.
Ms Ryan took issue with the Inspector of Mental Hospitals when he said he understood the reluctance to spend money on old buildings which would be replaced. "That's like saying that you should let a school fall down around the children because you intend to build a new one. It's just not acceptable."
In response, the Northern Area Health Board said a unit for 30 patients with a mental handicap had just been completed at St Ita's and staff were being recruited.
Another unit, to house 60 patients, was still at the planning stage while a 30-patient unit was being planned for north Dublin. "That still leaves about 200 patients. They should be moved into more suitable accommodation with smaller numbers," Ms Ryan said. This would happen when other new complexes were completed, the health board said.
There are about 1,200 people with a mental handicap in psychiatric hospitals and "de-designated" units in the State. These units, once part of psychiatric hospitals, were separated from them in the 1980s. Because of this de-designation, the Inspector of Mental Hospitals does not inspect them annually.
Relatives of those with a mental handicap want an independent inspectorate to oversee these units.
