Male ward in Mount Carmel ‘not fit for purpose’ – ‘A form of mental torture’
Male Ward 1B set up a year-and-a-half ago when seclusion ward was deemed structurally unsafe
A male ward in Mount Carmel Hospital is “not fit for purpose”, the Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders concluded after an investigation into the ward.
The ward in question is Male Ward 1B which was initially flagged by Prof. Andrew Azzopardi when he sent a formal complaint to the commissioner about the “critical violations” within the ward last month.
In an e-mail seen by Times of Malta, Commissioner Denis Vella Baldacchino described the ward, which houses seven patients with substance abuse issues, as a “complex one”. “The place is what it is and I cannot refer to it as a ward,” he said.
The ward was set up a year-and-a-half ago as a temporary measure when the seclusion ward was deemed structurally unsafe, the commissioner explained.
“They are not allowed to go out not even to the garden next to the ward for fear that they introduce substances in the ward. As a result, windows are barred with Perspex to decrease any risk of getting illicit substances in the ward,” he noted.
The ward is a complex one- Denis Vella Baldacchino, Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders
A relative of a patient inside the ward informed Times of Malta that the patient has not even been able to go outside since he has been there. The relative added that patients have nothing to do all day except smoke cigarettes in their rooms.
Another relative of a patient in Mount Carmel who spoke on Azzopardi’s radio show on Saturday, recited a similar experience and called it a “form of mental torture”.
“Since they are confined indoors, they spend the time in bed with nothing else to do except smoking in bed (and this is a serious hazard), watching TV, roaming around and eating food that they buy and get from the canteen,” he said.
Given the strict measures, nurses reported that all patients have tested negative during random drug tests.
The commissioner also described the visitor’s area as being a “small cubicle” which has perspex separating the visitors from the patients, to decrease the risk of illicit drugs being transmitted.
'Not fit for purpose'
“My position is that this place is not fit for purpose if we are looking for standards for care and persons’ rights as listed in the Mental Health Act,” the commissioner said.
The email added that many of these individuals are in the ward because they are homeless and there is an absence of alternative care.
“The issue remains that these persons in this area, as well as all persons currently in hospital due to lack of alternative therapeutic accommodation in the community, should be out of this hospital with immediate effect and followed up in the community,” he said.
He added that he has been informed that action is being taken to address the issue.
The government began the process of closing down Mount Carmel last year. It plans on closing down the hospital by 2028 and moving all psychiatric care to a new unit at Mater Dei Hospital.