Liam Walsh, whose mother Breda is a resident at the Rosalie Unit in Castlerea, has described the HSE’s refusal to pause ongoing clinical assessments of residents at the unit as “an attack on democracy”.
Speaking to the Roscommon People yesterday (Wednesday), Mr. Walsh expressed his dismay at the HSE’s response to Minister Jim Daly’s request to pause the assessments.
“It’s an attack on democracy where the HSE can decide to ignore an elected member of government. If this is how the country is going to be run then we’re on a slippery slope,” he said.
Mr. Walsh also accused the HSE of going behind the backs of family members.
“This is an organisation that talks all about open communication and yet some people went into the Rosalie Unit last Wednesday (8th) like a commando team and reviewed files. This was in spite of the fact that family members had gone in there days previously to inform staff that no reviews were to be carried out.
“If our politicians can’t stand up and scream in light of this, then this country of ours is in serious, serious trouble,” he said.
Speaking on Wednesday, Cllr. Paschal Fitzmaurice called for political unity for the sake of the Rosalie residents and their families.
“My understanding is that Minister Denis Naughten has been invited to a meeting which will be held in order to gain more clarity and to find a way forward in order to save this unit. It is very important that all local representatives stand together on this issue,” he said.
Last Thursday (9th), Fine Gael Senator Maura Hopkins confirmed she had received a letter from HSE Chief Officer Tony Canavan. In the letter, Mr. Canavan stated that he had advised Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People Jim Daly that it “was not possible to agree to a pause of assessments of the residents’ needs and discussion about their future care plans”.
Mr. Canavan claimed “applying a pause of this nature would put the current 12 residents in a position where the provision of care appropriate to their needs may be delayed unnecessarily”.
He went on to state that clinical assessments had in fact been completed in May of this year and that an independent review was now taking place at his request. He added that the outcome of this review would be brought to the attention of relevant residents, and where appropriate, their family members, in due course.
