Micheál Martin to raise child psych referral crisis in context of confidence and supply deal

Opposition leader Micheál Martin is to raise the staffing crisis that has led to the closure to new referrals of a specialist service for children undergoing a mental health crisis in Cork in the context of his party’s confidence and supply arrangement with the Government, which Fine Gael is seeking to extend.

Mr Martin said it was “quite shocking” that the only alternative for children in crisis was to present themselves at an emergency department (ED) in Cork city for the purpose of undergoing psychiatric evaluation. There are currently 162 children waiting to be seen by the North Lee Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team.

The Irish Examiner reported yesterday that the HSE has written to GPs in the North Lee catchment area, which covers parts of the northside of Cork city as well as townlands to the east, advising that their CAMHS team is closed to new referrals for the foreseeable future. This follows the departure of the CAMHS psychiatrist in February.

Shari McDaid, executive director of Mental Health Reform, said that holistic 24/7 crisis mental health services need to be available to everyone in their local communities.

The Government has committed to a seven-day-a-week model for adults, but no provision has been made for a move to a similar model for CAMHS.

The Government and HSE need to look at innovative ways of providing access to urgent care for children and adolescents in this area,” said Ms McDaid.

Cork Lord Mayor Mick Finn said asking children “to compete in the chaos of already strained EDs is a recipe for further disaster”.

Like the housing crisis, the abject failure to get on top of this issue for very vulnerable young people is not being addressed with enough haste and will cause huge problems down the line,” said Mr Finn.

He said those involved in the confidence and supply arrangement “must challenge what is happening”.

Sinn Féin mental health spokesman Pat Buckley said the fact that the resignation of one consultant could grind the service to a standstill and force young people to go to an ED “is the clearest indication of the neglect of CAMHS”.

He called on Health Minister Simon Harris to address the issue immediately so that the service could resume taking new referrals.