Relief, doubt, trepidation: Owenacurra campaigners hope HSE delivers on promises

The centre closed after being decimated in the Midleton floods last October, but before that, the residents had endured 30 months of pressure: the pressure to move, of stressful campaigns, Oireachtas hearings, and endless stonewalling from the bureaucratic machine in charge.

Despite all that, it is undeniable things are looking more positive at present for the six remaining residents than at any point in the last two and a half years.

For that, they can thank their families and the campaign to preserve Owenacurra, and in particular councillor Liam Quaide and Green TD Neasa Hourigan, who have lobbied relentlessly on behalf of the residents.

Those who remained at Owenacurra now have a new chief executive of the health service advocating directly on their behalf. This is in stark contrast from when Mr Gloster’s predecessor Paul Reid repeatedly backed the closure decision during appearances before the Oireachtas.

The residents face into a future where appropriate accommodation, importantly within the Midleton locality, is being sourced for them, and where a new 10-person facility will be built to help others on the grounds of Owenacurra itself. At least, that’s the promise.

It has been a long 30 months for those who remain. Not everyone who does is especially enamoured of the HSE. It is unlikely they will be so again.

Maureen O’Sullivan, whose brother Michael — who had described himself as feeling “like a pawn in some game” between the HSE and the Mental Health Commission — had lived in Owenacurra for years, said her interactions with the HSE remain less than clear in terms of what will come next, despite Mr Gloster’s assurances.

Lack of trust

“Well the first thing is it was a relief,” she said. “But still when we have had the discussions with them it’s very mixed. The move still isn’t based on a medical assessment. And there is no trust at all left.”

“They have bought the house at Lauriston [a three-bed house in Midleton], but when we try to find out what’s happening next we get fobbed off. We haven’t agreed to a move yet as we haven’t seen the accommodation. And we have to be vigilant with every single step as otherwise they could end up being moved one morning without notice,” Ms O’Sullivan says.

“It is great to hear that Bernard Gloster is taking an interest, but this shouldn’t be reliant on Bernard Gloster. What if something happens to him?”

The trust issue is not confined to Maureen O’Sullivan — it is echoed by others directly connected with the situation who do not wish to speak on the record.

“You cannot trust them one bit,” said one. “We’re still waiting for guarantees. We’ve had a commitment that accommodation is nearly ready, but it has been nearly ready for the past four months.”

Mary Hurley, whose sister had lived at Owenacurra for more than two decades, presents a more optimistic figure.

“I suppose that while I still have worries and uncertainty, I do feel a bit more optimistic than before — the reason is I found the response to the floods and that crisis very humane. There was a human attitude to the residents and their concerns at the time were met with good responses,” she said

She said the flooding situation was something “you wouldn’t have been able to write as a drama”. 

“But the response was more appropriate in terms of the accommodation that was sought, with the residents able to remain in Midleton close to everyone and everything that is familiar to them,” she says.

“It may be amazing that I should be saying that but it really does make a difference in terms of how they communicate with us. It’s a qualitative thing, in how they communicate with the residents themselves, it has improved.”

Services

Much will depend upon the services that are provided in the new residential homes where the remaining residents will be accommodated.

“There is no clear guarantee that the services that were in place will be continued,” said Maureen O’Sullivan. She is speaking in terms of meals and laundry primarily.

“Owenacurra had all meals and coffee and tea breaks each day. Five opportunities to meet with people. People with long-term mental illness have very solitary lives. It’s much better for them to be in with a lot of people. If you’re in a house and there are just three of you and you fall out with one, well what happens then? 

My brother isn’t worried about his room, it’s the services that will make his life bearable.

A HSE spokesperson said, without going into specifics, that the two new three-bed residences “will be run on the same model as other mental health community residences, with 24-hour staffing providing high, appropriate care”.

“The provision of community residences is an exciting development for mental health services in the area, and will allow for people to access residential services within the Midleton community,” they said, adding the two new homes “will be ready in the coming months”. They acknowledged further, however, that the purchase of the second residence was not yet completed.

The hope that is now in place for what remains of Owenacurra’s former complement is tempered with sadness that so many of the residents were not able to stay in their home. Of the 14 that left, two went to St Stephen’s Hospital in Glanmire, one went to St Finbarr’s in Cork City, and roughly six more were transferred to nursing homes.

Those who stayed were those with the highest levels of familial support, who had been in a position to say no to what was on offer.

'Treated like cattle'

“It isn’t a positive reflection on the HSE that those with no families were moved on. They were treated like cattle,” says Maureen O’Sullivan.

“The rest of us just happened to be an unusual group that were prepared to stick it out.”

At the end of the day, you have to remember that these 20 people had their lives totally upended by the same people who were charged with their welfare. 

"I can’t speak for other families but the places that people were transferred to were just very different from Owenacurra, which was community-based,” says Mary Hurley.

“There was a complete lack of accountability in the early days, and how the decision to close was made is an important question that needs answering,” she says.

“But it’s important that the service stays in the town. I do think the Save Owenacurra campaign was influential in keeping this in the public eye, but also for keeping pressure on public service providers to be accountable for their decision-making.”