Mental health staff shortages at ‘crisis levels’

DOMESTIC workers may be forced to administer medication to people with mental health problems after 5pm and at weekends as the staffing crisis within the mental health services escalates.

Information supplied to the Irish Examiner through the Psychiatric Nurses Association claims that in Ros-common, because of cuts to nursing staff, people living in community houses will either have to dispense their own medication out of hours, or the job will be done by unqualified staff.

There are also too few domestic staff. In one service for older people recently, no cleaning staff were available so patients’ personal laundry was piled up outdoors for a week until staff returned from leave.