Concern over order on youth mental help

DOCTORS in border counties have been instructed not to refer children or teenagers for psychiatric help except in emergencies because the local services cannot cope.

The emergency-only order, which affects child and adolescent psychiatry services in Cavan and Monaghan, was issued to family doctors in the region on Monday and applies initially for the next four months.

Sinn Féin TD for the area Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin attempted to raise the issue in the Dáil yesterday but was ruled out of order. He later told a special Oireachtas health and children committee meeting on suicide that the service was running on less than a third the recommended level of staff.

“We don’t want to see Bridgend repeated anywhere across this island,” he said, referring to the Welsh town, which has suffered a shocking spate of suicides among young people in the past year.

Representatives of the Northern Ireland assembly’s committee on health, social services and public safety attended the meeting, which compared suicide prevention measures both sides of the border.

Fine Gael TD Dan Neville, who is also president of the Irish Association of Suicidology, told the meeting the National Office for Suicide Prevention in the Republic had roughly the same annual funding as its equivalent body in the North, despite catering for a population four times higher than the North.

“If we applied the funding in the North per head of population here, we should be on €20 million” he said.

The meeting heard the National Office had an annual budget of €4.5m.

Senator Mary White of Fianna Fáil agreed the budget needed to be increased but added: “It’s not just about funding — it’s about what local communities can do.” She said local voluntary, church, residents, sporting and activity groups should be reaching out to vulnerable people in their localities, particularly the rural elderly.

She highlighted the lack of round-the-clock contact points for suicidal people in the Republic. “At the moment, the only 24-7 helpline we have is the Samaritans which listen to you but don’t refer you to other services,” she said.

“We have an urgent need for a 24-7 emergency line with nurses, psychiatrists and social workers on the other end who can assess whether this is a short-term crisis or if you need hospitalisation and can put you in contact with the relevant services.”

Mr Neville said, however, there was no point referring people to services that did not exist. Labour deputy Jan O’Sullivan raised recent revelations that money ring-fenced for psychiatric services had been spent in other area of the health system.

“This is happening under our very large bureaucracy of the HSE which most of the time seems to be focused on meeting budgets rather than providing caring services,” she said.