Kilkenny psychiatric unit records second consecutive compliance drop in new report
The centre at St Luke’s provides 44 beds in total between its Oak and Sycamore units
Despite a generally positive report released by the Mental Health Commission this week, the Department of Psychiatry at St Luke’s General Hospital’s overall compliance reduced from the previous year.
The unannounced annual inspection took place last September and found six instances of non-compliance, an increase from five in 2024.
The facility received a score of 83% and 30 ratings of compliance, but this continues a steady decrease from 91% compliance and only three occurrences of non-compliance in 2021.
Of the six non-compliance ratings, five were deemed high-risk, including serious issues observed in risk management, ordering of medications and codes of practice surrounding restraining residents.
Feedback from residents themselves was very positive overall with those interviewed reporting that staff were friendly, kind, approachable and they felt listened to.
The quality of food and nutrition were also well regarded by service users who commented that the food is “very good” and had variety available.
Some complaints directly from residents included one person who described being without clean clothes for over a week and recreational activities which were seen as limited in the acute unit, particularly on weekends.
An area of high-risk non-compliance observed by inspectors was a failure to ensure that a record of all medications administered to residents were recorded. Across several Medication Prescription Administration Records there were numerous signature omissions for the administration of medications.
Additionally, the centre had not ensured that a record of any allergies or sensitivities to medications was recorded in some files.
At the time of inspection, the Department of Psychiatry was found to not be ensuring that its risk management policy was being implemented as safety risks were not treated and monitored in accordance with relevant legislation.
This meant that dangers were not reduced to the lowest practicable level while health and safety risks were not documented within the register.
The centre had demonstrated notable improvement in its use of restrictive practices with instances of people being secluded coming down from 34 in 2023 to 22 in 2024.
Even so, the inspection observed problems with episodes of physical restraint as in two instances, the Clinical Practice for Physical Restraint was not signed by the consultant psychiatrist or duty consultant responsible as soon as practicable or within 24 hours.
In another instance, the staff member leading the use of physical restraint did not ensure that other staff members conducted and documented observations including vital clinical indicators such as the monitoring of pulse, respiration and complexion.
Although the report documented several areas of non-compliance, it noted that “inspectors were met with professionalism and a clear commitment from management to resolve the issue properly.”
It surmised that “overall, there was a sense of welcome and calm throughout the centre, from the inviting open-door entrance to the relaxed and positive interactions observed between staff and residents.”
A quality initiative highlighted included a full day of trauma-informed care training being available to all staff at St Luke’s which was facilitated by the psychology department.
The training was recognised as a finalist in the 2025 Irish Healthcare Awards under the Mental Health Initiative category.
Corrective action for all instances of non-compliance were outlined by the centre with each area being rated as ‘achievable and realistic’ to address.