Cork GPs told to send children in mental health crisis to ED

The HSE has told GPs in Cork that its specialist service for children experiencing a mental health crisis is closed to new referrals at a time when 162 children are on its waiting list.

The move is blamed on the recent departure of a psychiatrist.

It means the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team in Cork North Lee is without a consultant.

GPs are advised that if they have “immediate concerns” for the mental health of a child to send them to the emergency department (ED) at Cork University Hospital or the Mercy University Hospital, where an on-call child psychiatry service is accessible.

The service was suspended for a period last year due to chronic staffing problems, but is now reinstated.

John Sheehan, a GP and local councillor, said while much of the mental health service is reasonably resourced “CAMHS sticks out like a sore thumb”.

He said sending a child in a mental health crisis to an ED is “not appropriate”.

The HSE said every effort is being made “to recruit both a permanent consultant and interim temporary cover”.