53 involuntary admissions to psych units per month

An average of 53 involuntary admissions a month to psychiatric hospitals require assistance where it is not considered practical or safe for a doctor or family members to carry out the transfer to hospital themselves.

Psychiatric nurses have expressed concern at HSE plans for the use of private companies to escort ment-ally ill people to psychiatric hospitals.

The outsourced “assisted admissions” service will be called upon when people are made the subject of an involuntary admission order and are expected to resist being brought to hospital.