Mental health service ‘failing’

A SENIOR union official yesterday described Clare’s mental health service as “a failing service.”

Branch secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) in Co Clare, Denis Meehan, pointed out that since 2009 50 nurses have left the service without being replaced, 25% of the service’s 200 nurses.

Mr Meehan was responding to the publication of overtime figures for nurses in the mid-west last year, where the top 10 recipients were nurses working in the Clare mental health service.

A staff nurse working at Deilginish, in Shannon, received the highest overtime amount at €41,103, with another nurse at Deilginish receiving €37,292.

Mr Meehan said: “The PNA has worked tirelessly to get replacements for these nurses without success, as we are running broadly the same service. We have lobbied TDs and Government ministers,” he said.

“Higher management don’t seem to care about this. We are now training nurse graduates for emigration or unemployment. This is a paper exercise in order to be able to say that 50 nurses have been cut in Clare when in truth they are replaced at twice the cost.”

In a statement last night, the HSE said: “The moratorium on recruitment presents challenges for all involved in the delivery of health services.

“HSE management are continually reviewing the efficient use of resources and have engaged with the PNA as part of this process.

“It is expected new agency arrangements will result in considerable savings for the HSE.”