HSE warned closing Toghermore will be step too far for Tuam
By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN A MEETING is to be sought between the chair of the expert group reviewing Toghermore House and local members of the Regional West Health Forum. Galway Co Cllr and health forum member Shaun Cunniffe has warned the HSE West that any moves to close the community mental health residence on the townâ€â„¢s outskirts would be met with â€Å“enormous oppositionâ€Â. He told a meeting of the forum on Tuesday evening that he had little confidence in the recently sanctioned review of community mental health services in Galway-Roscommon and called for it to be stopped. Cllr Cunniffe believes the review is being used as a lever to shut down the 18-bed unit in Toghermore. The unit is included in an overall review of community mental health services. It is being carried out by an external group appointed by HSE West, who will present a full report and recommendations in three monthsâ€â„¢ time. Of the 39 community residential facilities for mental health services in Galway-Roscommon, just three are located in Tuam, with one high-support facility (TogherÂÂmore), one low support (Ballygaddy Road) and one medium support (Milltown Road). Cllr Cunniffe said Tuam had the highest population of any of the towns in the county but it only had one high-support community mental health residence and this is under serious threat. â€Å“Everyone in Tuam believes Toghermore has been singled out for closure.â€Â Acting Regional Director of Operations Bernard Glouster said that there was an advocate on the review team to represent residentsâ€â„¢ views and he disagreed with Cllr Cunniffeâ€â„¢s views that the review was a way of rubberstamping a decision that was already made. The HSE confirmed that a controversial fire report commissioned at the end of last year on Toghermore House cost €3,500 and that to date the only works carried out as recommended in the report have been to instal a fire alarm system. Cllr Cunniffe said it was a pity that a further €3,500 had to be spent on a fire report after more than €1 million had been invested in the Toghermore campus in recent years. Mr Glouster offered to write to the chairperson of the review group, Pat Dolan, to see if he would meet with the Tuam area members of the forum to discuss their concerns regarding Toghermore House. â€Å“Closing Toghermore House will be one step too far for Tuam. We canâ€â„¢t have any further vital pieces of infrastructure taken out of Tuam. We have watched the former Grove Hospital remain idle and fall into disrepair since it was bought in 2001,â€Â said Cllr Cunniffe. He pointed out that the remaining residents in Toghermore House are still living in fear, as they are unsure of their future and they havenâ€â„¢t been given any clear message. The Save Toghermore Committee is also unhappy with the review and says it is unacceptable that the local mental health group, staff and residents havenâ€â„¢t been consulted about it. The action group remains concerned about the future of Toghermore, as no further improvement works will be carried out until the 12-week review has been completed and no new admissions are permitted during this time. Area Manager for Galway-Roscommon Catherine Cunningham previously stated that all mental health residential services are being looked at. She confirmed that only urgent remedial work has been carried out at Toghermore and the HSE will await the outcome of the report before carrying out further works