Many residents in mental health facilities are living in cramped and dirty rooms, with the unsuitable conditions a result of "years of neglect", according to a report by the Mental Health Commission.
The report, published on Thursday, says the majority of residential psychiatric centres inspected since 2017 had failed to comply with regulations covering required standards for premises.
Dr Susan Finnerty, inspector of mental health services, said many psychiatric facilities had cramped multiple-occupancy bedrooms, limited outdoor spaces and small sitting rooms.
The unsuitability of many residential centres stemmed from the fact they had been converted from other old healthcare facilities, the report said.
In 2017, three quarters of centres inspected by the commission were deemed non-compliant with standards governing physical premises. This had decreased slightly to 69 per cent of facilities inspected in 2019, the report found.
Some 27 per cent of residential mental health facilities in 2019 were deemed unclean, the report stated.
In one centre visited that year, inspectors found bins overflowing, thick cobwebs on the ceiling and discarded cigarette butts in the sink of the women’s communal toilet.
‘Unacceptable’
Mental Health Commission chief executive John Farrelly said it was "unacceptable" that nearly a third of facilities were found to be dirty.
“Building new units, or significantly altering the design of existing units, may take time but ensuring that they are clean and well-maintained can and should be happening now. That we are still finding dirty rooms and ordering deep cleans is simply not good enough,” he said.
The Covid-19 pandemic had exposed that many residential mental health centres were “not fit for purpose”, and had not been designed with infection control guidelines in mind, the report found.
Recent inspections painted a picture of “years of neglect” in the sector, with only piecemeal improvements and “never-ending plans with no funding,” Dr Finnerty said.
“The test of ‘Would we ourselves like to be treated or even live in this environment?’ is not met in many mental health units,” according to the report.
At one centre inspected in recent years, a dormitory room had nine beds. Another centre in Co Cork had no outdoor space, so staff had to take residents to a nearby green for fresh air.
The outdated physical layout of many centres resulted in a lack of privacy and dignity for residents, which could often result in increased levels of aggression between residents.
“A poorly designed facility that prevents privacy, is noisy and has other stressful features, can intensify the stress of mental illness and involuntary confinement,” Dr Finnerty said.
Other common problems inspectors found included poor maintenance standards, bad ventilation, hazards and ligature anchor points.
