Call for extra funding to employ mental health staff

LIFTING the recruitment embargo in the mental health services is futile unless the HSE is given a budget to employ frontline staff, it has been warned.

Director of Mental Health Reform Orla Barry was responding to a pledge made by Mental Health Minister Kathleen Lynch that she is seeking “permission” from the Government to lift the moratorium for psychiatric services.

“Unless the HSE is given the money specifically to recruit, there is no point in the minister saying she will lift the embargo because the money isn’t there to deliver; unfortunately mental health is not a priority and never has been,” Ms Barry said.

Last year, after months of high level meetings, permission was given to the HSE to hire 100 psychiatric nurses. The money, though, had to found within local area budgets.

Documents obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal that even with exemptions, HSE areas must be “within ceiling budget and have the necessary funding available to fill vacancies created by retirements.”

In July, head of mental health services within the HSE Martin Rogan wrote: “The responsibility for filling posts rests locally. Many of the 100 exemptions granted in 2010 have not been utilised as expected… You will remember how we had to drag this through many layers (all government departments, the Minister for Health and Minister for Finance, and the Taoiseach) so to fall at this last fence is very disappointing for the local mental health service management.”

Ms Lynch came under fire yesterday for not responding adequately to a situation at St Brendan’s hospital.

This week five women were moved from a open ward to a locked ward because of staff shortages.

Mental Health Reform called on the minister to show what plans are in place to ensure similar situations do not arise in the new year when around 500 staff are set to retire, out of an overall staffing level in the mental health services of 9,000.