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PATIENTS AT THE new Central Mental Hospital in Portrane have been forced to sleep in their clothes and wear jackets indoors due to issues with the heating system at the €220 million facility, internal documents have revealed.
Staff formally raised concerns about “extreme cold” at the hospital 25 times over a 33-day period after it officially opened last November, and complaints continued into the new year.
A family member of a long-term inpatient at the facility, who did not wish to be identified, said he had asked for a sleeping bag due to “ice-cold” conditions, and claimed people in the hospital were being treated less favourably because of their mental incapacity.
“They’re being treated as subhuman, because this would not be tolerated in another hospital,” she said. “If so much as a radiator was broken in Beaumont [Hospital], there’d be uproar and something would be done about it in two seconds flat.”
On 17 November, a staff member reported that a female patient was sleeping in her clothes “due to her room being too cold”, noting that there were “a lot of complaints” about low temperatures in the bedrooms.
Two days later, there were three separate reports regarding low temperatures at the facility. Both “staff and patients” had raised concerns, while “all patients [were] complaining the bedrooms are cold at night”.
On 23 November, it was reported that patients were using switches on the wall of their rooms “attempting to increase the heat in the room”, but this was “not working”.
The following week, a staff member noted that a female patient was “still complaining” that her room was too cold, despite previous efforts to increase the temperature. “I don’t know if anything else can be done?” they added.
Staff also complained that the temperature in the nursing office was “locked” at 15 degrees, which was described as “not warm enough”. “All the night staff want is the ability to adjust the settings on the thermostat themselves,” they said.
On 6 December, there was “no heating in the art and craft room”, and it was “extremely cold” in a cleaners room “even after days when the wall stat was turned up”.
Internal documents released under Freedom of Information laws also reveal problems with heating in a TV room at the hospital, where it was “very cold and many patients have resorted to wearing jackets inside”.
“The heating system seems to not be working at all in this room in particular,” it added.
The family member of a patient at the facility said they sent him extra warm clothes to wear indoors, and claimed that the issue has yet to be resolved.
“He doesn’t complain. Probably none of them complain. That’s the problem, they’re voiceless, and that’s being taken advantage of. They need others to speak up,” she said.
The log of complaints regarding cold temperatures and problems with the heating system had a total of 25 entries between 14 November and 17 December, and complaints continued into January 2023. The log for subsequent months was not available.
However, a spokesman for the HSE insisted that the heating system has operated “as required and throughout” the hospital. “We have not experienced any ongoing issues with our heating system.”
“When patients and staff moved to the facility in November 2022, some adjustments were made regulating the heating temperature in specific rooms for individual patients,” he added.
The state-of-the-art facility, called the National Forensic Mental Health Service Hospital, cost €220 million to build on the campus of the former St Ita’s Psychiatric Hospital in Portrane, replacing the 171-year-old Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum.
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Honestly, leaving my pet stag behind was definitely the hardest part of emigrating.
I’m doing ok without you..
Jennifer and Little Jim, LOL XD
Celtic mysticism is all well and good but it won’t get you off the dole!
Mweh. Wanted to like it more than I did.
Lesson learned: Dont take drugs before boarding a flight.
Other than that, enjoyable animation.
He should buy a map of Dublin or a GPS as he was running all over the shop to get where he was going.
Why brought him up Talbot St. Temple Bar and Kildare St when his apartment is situated around North Strand
jaysus…how did he afford that apartment on the dole?
Looks like he was doing a runner on his mortgage, he still had the keys to get back in
I emigrated and I do not feel remotely moved! Great animation for sure but I’m left scratching my head.
As someone trying to get to grips with 3d software im really impressed, hope their skills are put to better use
he never paid the taxi man…tut tut
Loved that Chris DeBurgh song
And his apartment is about to be repossessed!
How did he get back into the apartment. The guy is about to emmigrate, surely he had to hand his keys back.
What you dont hear from oz is that alot of irish are struggling there aswell the cost of living there is through the roof.
The cost of living is high to be sure but I still only spend half my pay check a week and still have everything I want/need. I save the rest and sent a good portion of it home. Also, cause of the high pay here due to the high cost of living, the money I save for myself is quite substantial (more than I was making on the dole). If you live here like people are living in Ireland now (really being careful with you’re money) you can do well.
Is there a part two. Does he get with the stag or what?
He gets fined for littering
People taking the piss in the comment section make me miss home more than the video does…
This video is an unoffical party political broadcast on behalf of the Fine Gael and Labour party.
Be sure to swallow their PR spin and propaganda every time!
70,000 left Ireland last year and the same the year before – land thats the OFFICIAL government figures.
This video is going to change very little except give it makers massive money in production costs, we can’t really afford to give away on pointless projects.
Why would it be a party political broadcast for FG / Lab!?! I’m assuming the lad is emigrating for employment and job reasons & quite likely has none in Ireland or is limited in his options at the very least! Emigrating does the Government a favour as it lessens the burden on the welfare system where if your collecting same you’re not contributing to the tax take!! Not everything’s a conspiracy you know!!
Political spin and propaganda! I expect planes to drop leaflets next.
MANNNNN HOOCH IS CRAZY
Despite the fact that this was made on a relative shoestring and it’s makers made zero, projects like this actually give Irish filmakers / animators / editors etc a real chance to develop their skills and add to their cv. I cut this short a couple of years ago while unemployed and it helped me win a full time position working on an international animated series.
Biggins, your a negative gimp! Ireland isn’t a place for u.
Feeling bad for leaving Dublin’s “spirit” behind is all very well, but I left because I couldn’t find a decent job.
Did Ross O’Carroll Kelly shed a few pounds?
What absolute diddle-di drivel. Honestly, all that’s missing are leprechauns.
If the State sell off of Coillte harvesting rights is realised, the poor fellah won’t even have his dreams to turn to!
I thought it was good. Where does it claim to solve an emmigrant’s problems? All it’s saying is that there is a particular spirit in the country that he was going to leave behind and he decided not to. But the usual west-brit brigade will be along any minute to pour their scorn on it.
The Journal said: “This short film may make you reconsider emigrating” – so maybe they shouldn’t have paraphrased the story as they did.
…usual West Brit Brigade?? – what the hell is that about?
Sorry but it wouldn’t make me reconsider..
lovely animation, but I’m sure it will make a sad situation worse for a lot of people
Great animation and artwork, its also great to watch an animated short and to be able to relate to it by the cars,buses, shops and pubs etc. I dont follow this industry but its good to see we have talent in this field of work. To be fair,the journal kind of overhyped it and encouraged the onslaught of begrudgery and scepticism from the less apreciative.
I just love how clean the city looks. So sick of the litter in Dublin!
Dublin is alot cleaner than London.
In fairness I’d say they are equally clean. Not everything needs to be a competition.
The guy ditched his suitcase on the footpath and threw his plane ticket out the window of his apartment so he doesn’t have much of a problem with littering himself.
Didn’t pay the taxi driver and left the taxi door open. Playing chicken with a Luas tram.
The story was a bit watery but very good animation though.
Your missing my point. All big cities have litter problems.
EI235 to Sydney, what’s the inflight movie
Celtic tiger cub desperately attempts to flee Ireland to escape the gargantuan pressure of unemployment fused with perpetual mortgage debt but such plans meet their demise in a frenzied act of immense stupidity…..
I love the Sponsored Link “Spouse Visa Application” underneath this article.
This short film has no message whatsoever other than have all your documents with you and arrive at least an hour before your flight. Good advertisement for airlines- “Don’t forget to print your boarding pass and your passport, or this could be you…. *play fim*” Really cool graphics though.
you missed don’t take LSD. (staring at his hands was a big give away) ;-)
Excellent. All my unemployment problems solved at last. Now I know what to tell my Local Employment Service Office: I’m looking for vacancies in deer hunting.
Can I have his ticket !
Actually very good show!! There is a lot of irish abroad missing home! Family, friends, the craic, few social drinks, croke park, lansdowne road, christmas easter, patricks day! People in ireland don’t know how lucky they have it! Ask anybody who has travelled and they’ll say the same thing. You can’t beat home!
I can’t believe they shot Darren!
Did he turn into Christy from Aslan with some serious guns when he became the Celtic Warrior?
I don’t get it what did he discover that changed his situation? Unless of course he was just emigrating as a lifestyle choice then I’d understand.
I don’t get it
Where’s all the blue lads.? ……..
Well that was unconvincing.
Nice detail though.
Propagandist nonsense
Use the HD version lads – http://vimeo.com/61789415
It needs more lasers and shit
Completely unbelievable – no-one would wear a tie to the airport, i’m fine with everything else though!!
What a load of crap! “Nominated” please tell merit didn’t get any further??
How is it really relevant, nice video but that Ireland has long been replaced by dishonesty and corruption .
My wife eldest daughter and myself all work but I have yet to see anything from politicians that things will change people should strive to live not exist and sadly that’s all that lies ahead here
That’s grand, but now I want to see the follow up sequel that’s set at Dublin Airport to the song ‘What’s Love got to do with it’.
Me it^
Qwertyd
f….. sake poor bastard is still on the scratcher .
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