The Mental Health Commission has found that patients were temporarily transferred to an unsuitable Ennis care facility to alleviate bed shortages in the acute psychiatric unit.
The state watchdog states that Cappahard Lodge accepted the transfer of these patients for a night, despite not being set up for them.
Cappahard Lodge is located on the Tulla Road in Ennis and was formerly a nursing home and now has single bedroom accommodation for all the residents, many of whom lived in the approved centre for a number of years.
It has capacity for 32 residents but 15 were present during this inspection, which was carried out between August 13th and 16th last.
Inspectors noted six cases of non-compliance; one of which was deemed high risk.
It was found that due to bed shortages in the Acute Psychiatric Unit, patients were accepted at Cappahard Lodge for an overnight stay, despite the facility not being suitable for acutely mentally ill people.
However, inspectors noted that Cappahard Lodge had demonstrated impressive improvement in compliance with regulations over the previous there years and there were 15 compliances with regulations rated as excellent.
Cappahard Lodge has submitted a plan to the Mental Health Commission to address training deficits by reviewing educational and training needs and providing monthly training sessions.
