Extensive repair works carried out that the new central mental hospital in Portrane appear to have addressed long-running issues with the heating system at the €220 million facility, according to internal documents.
An earlier investigation by the Irish Mirror revealed that patients were having to sleep in their clothes due to “Baltic” temperatures at the hospital, while staff had to wear coats while dispensing medication.
More than 100 formal complaints were received from patients and staff in the months after the state-of-the-art facility opened in November 2022, and they continued throughout 2023 and the first quarter of this year.
READ MORE: Patients at €220m Central Mental Hospital given extra duvets due to 'Baltic' room temperatures
READ MORE: 'Freezing' psych patients treated like 'second-class citizens', says family member
Leaks in the underfloor heating system caused a ceiling to collapse at the facility, while patients in the female unit had to be evacuated and accommodated elsewhere for 10 weeks due to heating and plumbing faults in March 2023.
The continual issues prompted the Mental Health Commission to write to management at the hospital last year, after it emerged that the temperature in one room had dipped to 15 degrees at night – below the level that the HSE says puts people “at risk of hypothermia”.
The Irish Mirror understands that extensive repair works have since taken place at the central mental hospital in Portrane.
Last year, management received a quotation of €37,708 plus VAT for remediation works in the female unit, while a quote for €40,000 was obtained for the inspection of manifolds in the heating system.
Last September, an official at the hospital noted in internal correspondence that the manifolds in the underfloor heating system had “unfortunately” failed due to debris in the water.
In January, an additional €10,000 was spent stripping out and replacing the heating coil from the entire system.
These measures appear to have worked, as records released under freedom of information laws show that just six complaints were received regarding heating at the hospital between April 20 and May 31 this year, and three of these related to the same issue.
It represents a marked improvement from earlier this year, when it was reported that patients were requesting extra duvets to combat the cold at night. One “freezing” patient even sent a handwritten note to the manager of the hospital, pleading for “something to be done” about the temperature.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said the heating at the facility is operating “as required” and “as per the specifications of the system”.
“Individual patients may have preferences of temperatures they wish to have. These are managed within the heating system controls in each bedroom and these can be adjusted with limitations of six degrees by the patient,” she said.
“The heating system… is comprised of many mechanical components and moving parts which from time to time need to be replaced or repaired. The maintenance department carries out regular planned preventative maintenance programmes on all of these components and parts, and when concerns are reported by patients and/or staff, these are assessed and rectified.”
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