Picture Brendan Gleeson
by Bernie Engllsh bernie@limericpost.ie
A LIMERICK woman, whose account of “hell” in the psychiatric ward of University Hospital Limerick was highlighted by the Limerick Post says she has been told by senior HSE managers that improvements will be made because of her experience.
Mary Milburn (61) from Patrickswell revealed to the Limerick Post how she spent two weeks in unit 5B, where she says she was subjected to daily verbal abuse by other patients; told she couldn’t have clean sheets after a week “because they were not dirty enough” and was not allowed have a shower for two weeks until just before she was discharged.
“I’m still having panic attacks and bad dreams since I came home. Far from being a place of recovery, I thought it was more like a concentration camp,” Mary said.
But after the article appeared in The Post last December, Mary was invited to a meeting by senior mental health managers in the Mid West.
“I had 45 complaints written down and we discussed each one. They seemed genuinely shocked by some of the issues. They said it was unacceptable what I had endured and they apologised,” said Mary.
One of the issues Mary raised was the lack of any separation between patients with serious mental disturbance and people being treated short-term illness.
In a letter written after the meeting, the senior manager said that a major redevelopment programme will allow for better segregation of patients. The manager told Mary that her feedback on the situation in the unit was “excellent,” and it has been decided by the Mid Western Management Team that her ‘feedback will be used as a learning tool for staff.
Both the Mid Western Management team and the senior nurse management team in 5B were told of Mary’s experiences and the letter said that “at both meetings it was acknowledged that your experiences were not what we wanted or expected for our service users”.
Other issues that Mary raised and which the management have promised to tackle include lack of access to fresh air and garden space and improvements in the communications and complaints policy.
“Your experience has generated not only learning for the acute psychiatric unit in Limerick, but also our wider service,” the letter continued.
“I’m very glad that I spoke out and I hope that by doing so, I will save some other poor unfortunate the experiences that I had. I’m very pleased with the outcome and they have promised to keep me updated,” said Mary.
