Building of New Replacement Mental Health Facility at Grangegorman complete

The New Replacement Mental Health Facility for St. Brendan’s Hospital at Grangegorman has been handed over to the HSE by the Grangegorman Development Agency.

The new 54 bed purpose built mental health facility, named the ‘Phoenix Care Centre’ includes a Psychiatric Intensive Care Service. This state of the art facility will provide patients with their own single bedrooms and en-suite facilities, therapy and rehabilitation spaces, enhanced with courtyard settings and a light filled environment to maximise the recovery journey for patients.

The completion of this building marks a significant milestone as it is the first major building project to be completed as part of the overall Grangegorman re-development project. The full cost of the unit to date is running at €21m.

Anne O’Connor, Area Manager, HSE Dublin North City said: “I am delighted to accept this landmark building on behalf of the HSE. This uniquely designed mental health facility will provide a safe, secure and therapeutic environment for patients to receive the care they require in a modern environment. The completion of this facility will enable the HSE to improve access for patients to very high quality facilities and services.”

Michael Hand, Grangegorman Development Agency Chief Executive Officer said: “I am delighted with the high quality of design and construction of the Phoenix Care Centre and I would like to pay tribute to the close collaboration between the HSE and GDA teams together with our design team and contractors. This building sets the standard for the entire Grangegorman development which will be rolled out over the coming years.”

The HSE recently lodged the 3 month statutory notice of the closure of St Brendan’s Hospital, Grangegorman with the Mental Health Commission. It is expected that the move of both the staff and patients of St. Brendan’s to the new facility will commence towards the end of the first quarter 2013. It fully reflects the core principals of “A Vision for Change”, Government policy for mental health services.

The closure of St. Brendan’s will end 199 years of continuous provision of care and treatment to those with mental illness. The hospital was the first public psychiatric hospital in Ireland and was recognised over the years as adhering to the humane school of Moral Management in asylum care, first espoused by William Tuke of the York Retreat set up 21 years earlier.

For the last 30 years the move from asylum care to a targeted rehabilitation and recovery programme has led to the reduction in the number of patients in the hospital and facilitated the development of highly specialised Psychiatric Intensive Care for the wider region.

At present, St. Brendan’s provides intensive care for those suffering from serious mental illness who cannot be managed in General Hospital Units both in the greater Dublin area and the North East and provides intensive support to patients prior to return to their local units as their illness improves. A small number of patients who continue to need active rehabilitation will continue to receive treatment in the new hospital.

The new facility’s intensive care units will continue to provide services to patients from Dublin and the North East with a focus on rapid access and early return to the local mental health services which will be enhanced by the spacious and modern environment.

The opening of the Phoenix Care Centre will enable the full transfer of the St. Brendan’s site to the Grangegorman Development Agency.