10% of psych nurses to retire, survey suggests

Emerging figures from a nationwide survey of psychiatric nurses points to a retirement rate of at least 10% across a 4,000-strong membership of full-time nurses affiliated to the Psychiatric Nurses Association.

The PNA today will reveal the full extent of the exodus from the mental health services, but it is understood the figures are at about 10% in many areas, rising to as high as 15% and 20% in the West.

The loss of these frontline staff members comes on top of about 500 vacant posts across the mental health services. There is huge concern that community facilities will close countrywide to sustain inpatient hospital services. Although €35m was allocated to the mental health services in the last budget to recruit psychologists and fill other vacant posts in community teams, when cuts are taken into account the overall budget has remained the same.

Mental Health Reform urged the HSE to fast-track recruitment of the community mental health team staff set out in its 2012 national plan.

“The HSE should establish a programme for developing effective community teams and adopt a policy on gatekeeping that ensures service users see the most experienced, highly trained staff from whichever discipline is most appropriate at first point of contact.”

Mental Health Reform said it continues to hear reports from services of the impact of combined staffing and budget cuts on community based services, with some withdrawal of community services. For example, a day service in Ennis closed for a week due to a lack of budget to employ agency staff; a service in Dublin reported having to close two high support hostels due to lack of staff and also reported having difficulty replacing community mental health team staff.

“We welcome the allocation of €23m set out in the HSE’s national service plan 2012 in additional funding for community mental health teams and the corresponding 370 posts,” the organisation said.

“However, there is concern that this commitment could be at risk if substantial further acute service staff losses occur. It will be vital to fast- track community team recruitment in 2012 so that the holistic, quality community services that can prevent and reduce inpatient admissions can be developed quickly.

“Additional staff resources will have little effect unless they are used efficiently. Part of the cultural change that needs to happen in the mental health services is the development of a teamwork approach as contrasted with the traditional, hierarchical structure overseen by a consultant psychiatrist.”

It said there continued to be a “medicalised model” of care with relatively low levels of input from psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists, and that this needs to change.