Idle mental health unit for children

A VITAL unit for children with mental health problems that has been ready to open for several months is still lying idle because staff have not been appointed to run it.

The temporary eight-bed inpatient facility in Cork would have brought the total number of beds for young people across the country to 30.

With just 22 child and adolescent beds – 10 in Galway and 12 in Dublin – there have been repeated warnings that Ireland falls down significantly when it comes to providing mental health services for young people.

In 2001, the Vision for Change mental health plan stated that “urgent attention” should be given to the completion of the planned four 20-bed units in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin, and multidisciplinary teams should be provided for these units.

But while funding was provided in April’s supplementary budget for the provision of 35 additional therapy posts for child and adolescent mental health services, according to the HSE, the recruitment process is only now “commencing”.

The director of Mental Health Ireland Brian Howard said the situation was “completely unacceptable”.

“It is generally recognised that the number of beds in the system is not acceptable,” he said.

“The eight beds in Cork were signalled some time ago and the delay will have an impact as it was to increase capacity significantly considering the low base of beds we are working from.”

Mr Howard said young people were continuing to be placed in adult units and this was inappropriate.

“You can imagine the effect this would have on the young people if they are in adult unit. It really is far from acceptable.”

Mr Howard said, in a modern mental health system, the emphasis should be on providing community services.

“In the case of children and adolescents the real priority should be the development of community teams. The problem is two pronged – there are not sufficient numbers in community teams and so then the demand for beds rises dramatically.”

According to Liam McNamara, chair of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, at the end of 2007 there were about 3,600 children and adolescents on waiting lists with at least a third waiting more than a year.

“We believe there was no change to that figure at the end of 2008. In 2007 there were 364 admissions for children and adolescents to adult facilities. Despite the promise of 16 fully functioning child and adolescent community mental health teams promised for 2007 and 2008, only three materialised,” he said.

A spokesperson for the HSE said the Cork unit would open for clients “as soon as staff recruitment and orientation is finished”.