The Western Health Board has closed down a ward at St Brigid's Hospital in Ballinasloe where conditions were described as "Victorian" recently by the Inspector of Mental Hospitals.
The patients from Ward 1 at St Brigid's Hospital have been relocated to more suitable care environments, according to a WHB spokesperson.
"This has taken place in the context of an overall strategy to reorient services with a stronger community focus that meets the particular care needs of service users."
Following the 2002 inspection, the Inspectorate of Mental Hospitals issued a report to the Minister for Health to highlight the conditions at St Brigid's Hospital and the impediments to improving them.
As a result of this report, the WHB set up a representative group to reshape the east Galway mental health services. The 2003 report found that conditions in most wards of the old building at St Brigid's remained unchanged.
