This article is from page 14 of the 2008-06-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
A PATIENT has absconded from the Ennis acute unit 25 times over the past three months, while he also as- saulted a nurse and a fellow patient.
The revelation emerged at Ennis District Court on Friday as a lead- ing consultant psychiatrist said that some people who suffer from a men- tal illness are being inappropriately criminalised because of the lack of facilities available west of the Shan- non.
Clare-based psychiatrist Dr John O’Mahony made the remarks in the case of David Mulcaire (35), a resi- dent at Ennis Acute Unit, and with an address at St Senan’s Road, En- nis, who appeared in court facing a criminal damage and a public order charge, arising out of an incident at Harmony Row, Ennis, last Thursday, June 12.
He had previously appeared in court on theft charges and has been an inpatient at Ennis General Hospi- tal for some time.
“Since March, Mr Mulcaire has absconded from our unit on 25 oc- casions. His behaviour has become assaultive. The facts speak for them- selves. 25 elopements from our unit since last March is impossible to manage. We cannot contain him and the people best placed to deal with
him are in the Central Mental Hos- pital,” he said.
He said Mr Mulcaire’s behaviour was of huge concern to the hospital staff and the public at large and he would suggest that he be brought to the Central Mental Hospital in Dun- drum.
‘There is no forensic services out- side the Dublin area. That in itself is a bone of contention. In the mean- time, unfortunately, Mr Mulcaire is a victim in all of this,” he said.
Dr O’ Mahony said that the Nation- wide Health Resources Corporated had assessed Mr Mulcaire and would be in a position to provide him with care. However, this would come at a huge cost, which the Health Service Executive wouldn’t be able to pay, he said.
Defending solicitor Billy Loughnane said, “If we did have ac- cess to such a facility last Novem- ber you would have Mr Mulcaire placed in that facility and the assault wouldn’t have happened and the in- cident yesterday wouldn’t have hap- pened. The State has failed him.”
Dr O’Mahony replied, “There are no facilities available for him. I have to agree, yes. Mr Mulcaire is not alone. People who suffer from a men- tal illness are being inappropriately criminalised because of the lack of facilities. I have no problem saying
that in public and under oath.”
“T can express my frustration at the lack of facilities for patients who have come in contact with the law. It is reasonable that people should receive treatment as close to their homes as possible. These facilities do not exist,” he said.
Previously the court heard that Mr Mulcaire suffered a serious brain trauma in 1999, when he was hit in the head with a concrete block.
Mr Mulcaire repeatedly interrupt- ed as Dr O’Mahony was giving evi- dence last Friday and was removed from the court. When the court re- turned to the case later in the after- noon, the defendant asked for it to be finalised.
“IT know I have spent time in the acute unit over the past seven years, a few months here and a few months there. Maybe I needed it at the time. I just want to get on with my life. I want you to give me my sentence and get it over with,” he told Judge Joseph Mangan.
“T was working from the age of six to 29. I got a knock on the head. It’s far from mad I am,” he said.
The judge remanded him in custody to re-appear in court next Friday and ordered that a report from a forensic psychiatrist be carried out.