Dublin People - Beaumont rejects detox beds claims

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Beaumont rejects detox beds claims

Thursday, 12 June 2008

A NORTHSIDE hospital has hit back at claims that the relocation of 10 detox beds to facilitate construction work will have a negative impact on its service.
Detox beds are used for the treatment of drug addicts and alcoholics.
Cllr Aodhan O Riordain (Lab) criticised Beaumont Hospital for its decision claiming that the beds were being moved to make way for a private unit and would leave marginalised citizens without a much-needed service.
“The Department of Health's priorities in this regard are scandalous,” Cllr O Riordain told Northside People.
“The National Drugs Strategy states that for our population, Ireland needs between 130 and 150 detox beds.
“Indeed, commitments were given that the number would be increased to 50 by the end of last year.
“Now instead of increasing the number of detox beds in Beaumont Hospital, the existing beds are to be moved to make way for the new private unit.”
Cllr O Riordain said it was now time for the Minister for Health and Junior Minister with Responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy to state when the number of detox beds in Beaumont Hospital and throughout the country are to be increased.
“Ireland needs a proper response to the drugs crisis, yet Beaumont Hospital can only inform me that any plans for increasing the number of beds for detox would have to be part of a service plan and would have to be linked in with the HSE's plans for development of this service,” Cllr O Riordain added.
A spokesman for Beaumont Hospital confirmed that the detox beds are being moved in order to facilitate the construction of new co-located private units.
However, he rejected Cllr O Riordan’s claims that the hospital was cutting vital services and stated that patient care was their primary concern.
“It is common practice in a hospital to move services from one location to another to accommodate changes; there is nothing unusual in this,” the spokesman told Northside People.
“Beaumont Hospital currently has funding for only 10 detox beds and the service will not be negatively affected by what we are doing.
“It is contrary to our aims to disrupt important services to the public such as these and the services will continue.”
The HSE said it is currently working to increase the number available nationwide under the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008.
Currently, a detoxification programme takes around six weeks and one detoxification bed will cater for around eight patients per year.

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