Reported abuse of residents at mental health hospital, Dublin
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23/08/2026
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As reported in the Irish Times on August 13, 2026 the HSE has enhanced it’s support and oversight structure, a formal support process after reports of abuse of residents by staff at Bloomfield Mental Health Hospital Rathfarnham, Dublin.
Last year a whistle-blower first made claims that: some residents were left in soiled clothing for ‘unacceptable’ periods of time, some had been slapped on the leg, sworn at and threatened with injection.
The hospital, which is owned by the Quakers then commissioned internal and external reports into the situation.
These reports were not made available to the HSE or Department of Health but instead published in the Irish Times late last year. This hospital had received a 94% compliance rating by the Mental Health Commission only months before the serious mistreatment of residents became known, according to Liam Quaide T.D., Social Democrats Spokesperson on Mental Health.
Bloomfield voluntarily closed to new admissions in December, 2025. The HSE are making a report into the hospital, but it will not be published externally.
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HSE must publish its investigation into serious mistreatment and neglect of residents at Bloomfield Hospital
The HSE must publish its investigation into serious mistreatment and neglect of residents at Bloomfield Hospital in Rathfarnham, according to Social Democrats mental health spokesperson Liam Quaide TD, whose parliamentary question revealed the report is not intended for public release.
Deputy Quaide said:
“The findings concerning the treatment of vulnerable residents at Bloomfield are appalling. Of further concern is the fact that the HSE, the Department of Health, the Mental Health Commission and the Minister for Health were not informed of these allegations until the independent investigation was being reported in the media.
“Bloomfield is a mental health hospital in south Dublin. An independent investigation into whistleblower allegations found that some residents had been left soiled for an “unacceptable period”, slapped on the leg, sworn at and threatened with an injection to secure their co-operation. There were 11 trust-in-care reports relating to 17 patients in July 2025.
“Following these revelations, the HSE commenced its own inspection and review of Bloomfield at the end of February. My parliamentary question has now confirmed that a draft was presented to HSE Dublin Midlands and the National Office for Mental Health in early July, with a final report expected in August.
“However, the HSE has also confirmed that this report is not intended for external publication. That is completely indefensible.
“The decision to withhold this report from public scrutiny reflects a longstanding culture of secrecy within the HSE: institutional self-protection, secrecy and a reflex to control information when serious failures are exposed.
“The public is entitled to know what the HSE’s investigation found, what failures it identified and what changes are required to ensure that vulnerable patients are protected.
“Bloomfield received a 94% compliance rating from the Mental Health Commission only months before serious mistreatment of residents came to light. It is extraordinary that the HSE is now invoking the Commission’s own Judgement Support Framework to investigate what went wrong – and then refusing to publish the result.
“The HSE has put enhanced oversight arrangements in place at Bloomfield, including fortnightly assurance meetings and the weekly attendance of a senior HSE official on site. Bloomfield has also been closed to new admissions since December 2025.
“These measures underline the seriousness of what occurred. They make transparency around the HSE’s investigation more important, not less.
“The HSE should now commit to publishing the report in full, subject only to whatever limited redactions are genuinely necessary to protect the privacy of individuals. Residents, families, staff and the wider public deserve accountability for what went wrong at Bloomfield.”
August 13th, 2026Posted in HSE, Liam Quaide, Mental health, Press Release
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