Consultant supports resignation of Clinical Director at Beaumont

A consultant at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin says he supports the resignation of the Clinical Director over patient safety concerns.

Professor Shane O'Neill stood down from his post citing concerns about the admission of psychiatric patients through the Emergency Department of the hospital.

Consultant Bill Tormey, who also chairs the HSE Forum for North Dublin and the Northeast, says he raised the issue with the HSE on numerous occasions but to no avail.

Mr Tormey, who is running in the local elections for Fine Gael in Dublin North West, says psychiatric patients should not be going through Accident and Emergency.

He said: "We need to copy what's going on in Cork University Hospital and at UCC, where differentiated patients who are at their general practitioner, or are seen out of hours, go directly to a psychiatric assessment unit in the psychiatric unit."