THE RESIDENTS OF two care centre facilities in Midleton that were flooded and sustained substantial damage during Storm Babet are still living in alternative accommodation two weeks on.
Thirteen elderly residents from Midleton Community Hospital are being cared for in Heather House, which is fifteen miles away.
The remaining residents of the Owenacurra centre, which has been earmarked for closure by the HSE, have been relocated to a nearby hotel.
The 24-hour mental health centre once housed 19 residents, but is now home to only six, as people have moved to nursing homes, other centres and larger hospitals, in some cases.
Since the closure of the centre was announced in 2021, relatives of residents have led a campaign to keep it open, as it is the only service of its kind in East Cork, and has been home to some residents for many years.
Now, relatives are concerned that the evacuation of their family members due to flooding may lead to the permanent closure of the Owenacurra centre.
Repair works have not begun at the centre, but the HSE has told The Journal that the damage to the building is currently being assessed by professionals.
Maureen O’Sullivan’s brother Michael is a long-term resident of the centre. The 59-year-old has lived there for 12 years. He has dealt with a serious mental illness since his late teens, and later became homeless.
Since the closure of Owenacurra was announced (which the HSE has stated is due to structural issues with the building) Michael has struggled with the idea of having to move outside of Midleton, and to a new environment.
Maureen said that on the day Storm Babet hit, Michael was coming back to the centre from an art class when a nurse stopped him at the door and told him that water was coming into the building and the electricals had been damaged.
“They acted very fast in getting the residents to the Midleton Park hotel, and both the Owenacurra staff and the hotel staff have been wonderful, and have gone to great lengths to make sure the residents are comfortable.
“But our big worry now is that the centre may not reopen. We are not going to allow that to happen, it’s imperative that Michael and the other residents are able to return to their home,” she said.
Local TD Pat Buckley said that Babet was the “perfect storm” for the HSE to potentially “finally remove the rest of the remaining residents from the Owenacurra respite centre”.
“We now have officially lost all of the 20 long term respite beds plus the two short term respite beds, and all of the associated services that were once provided in the Owenacurra centre,” he said.
Buckley vowed to continue to fight to have the mental health service reinstated to its former capacity.
“God knows where these residents will end up now. I hope it is not St Stephen’s Hospital, because that will mean we are going back 70 years in time with the services we are offering people with long term mental health conditions. We need services at the highest level in East Cork,” the Sinn Féin TD said.
The Midleton Community Hospital was also substantially damaged during the flooding, and needs to be repaired and sanitised thoroughly.
One community hospital source said that only one section of the hospital was damaged, and that staff are travelling to Heather House to continue providing care for residents.
“It’s a tough situation, but we were glad that the residents were not moved to another community hospital further away.
“They had to be evacuated, because part of the building was completely destroyed with flooding.
“Staff are able to go and care for the residents, so they are still seeing familiar faces amongst the new ones,” they explained.
They said that the move has been difficult for residents and their families, as many had relatives who lived close by and were able to “pop in” and see them on a regular basis.
They added that some workers are taking public transport to reach Gurranabraher, where Heather House is located.
A spokesperson for the HSE said that three Cork Kerry Community Healthcare services were impacted by the flooding in Midleton.
These include the two centres and the McAuley Day Centre, which is home to public health nursing clinics, and has since reopened.
The HSE said that the Midleton Community Hospital residents are comfortable and being cared for by the same team. It added that the building is being assessed, and that it aims to have it open “as soon as possible”.
The HSE said that the damage to the Owenacurra centre building is “being assessed”.
It thanked staff from all facilities, and the Gardaí, emergency service personnel, council workers and volunteers who have all helped to ensure the delivery of frontline health services in Midleton.
During Storm Babet two weeks ago, over 100 properties, including businesses, homes, and care centres were flooded, and people had to be rescued by emergency service personnel and army soldiers, who used small boats to navigate flooded streets.
Since then, the Government has announced an emergency relief fund for home and business owners – the first payments from the fund were made this week
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