A failure to provide sufficiently nutritious food, hygiene issues, and violations of privacy have resulted in a Clare mental health facility receiving its lowest compliance rating in five years following an inspection.
The Acute Psychiatric Unit at Ennis Hospital has been found non-compliant in nine areas by the Mental Health Commission – four more than last year.
The Mental Health Commission conducted its unannounced annual inspection at the Ennis facility from February 17th to 20th of this year.
While it noted improvements on its 2024 findings in some areas, it found the unit non-compliant in nine areas, with seven of these deemed high-risk.
The non-compliances in which the risk was rated as high were food and nutrition, food safety, individual care planning, privacy, premises, ordering, prescribing and storing and administration of medicines, and risk management processes.
Additionally, the unit was found to be non-compliant in the areas of searches and the rules governing the use of seclusion.
Overall, the Acute Psychiatric Unit in Ennis received a compliance rating of 74% – down from 82% last year and 88% in 2024.
