Ireland has half the number of Camhs beds than recommended in 2006 

Psychiatric Nurses Association general secretary Peter Hughes said in May 2022, 11 beds at the Camhs Linn Dara unit, in Cherry Orchard Hospital, Dublin, was closed due to staff shortages.

Psychiatric nurses have described HSE plans to close a 10-bed child in-patient mental health unit as “inconceivable”, given the country has only half the beds officially recommended 20 years ago.

The Psychiatric Nurses Association said the proposal to close the unit at St Vincent’s Hospital in Fairview, North Dublin, was in the context of there being just 50 in-patient beds in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs).

This is compared to the 100 beds recommended in the Government’s Vision for Change blueprint in 2006.

Speaking at its annual conference, Psychiatric Nurses Association general secretary Peter Hughes said in May 2022, 11 beds at the Camhs Linn Dara unit, in Cherry Orchard Hospital, Dublin, was closed due to staff shortages — with the assurance they would reopen within four months.

“Four years later, it is now proposed to open the beds in September this year, but astonishingly, the 10-bedded unit in St Vincent's Hospital will close at the same time,” Mr Hughes said. 

“The St Vincent's service does not have the same staffing pressures as Linn Dara. It is our understanding that very few of the St Vincent's staff are interested in transferring to Linn Dara.” 

He added: “It is inconceivable the HSE would propose to close the 10 beds in St Vincent's when they are fully staffed. There is a serious concern that there will be insufficient staff to open the 11 beds in Linn Dara and sustain staffing levels.” 

Mr Hughes said difficulties in the recruitment and retention of psychiatric nurses also raised concerns “on the ability to open the 20 Camhs beds” in the new National Children’s Hospital, which is due to open early next year.

In addition, he said rising fuel costs were placing a “mounting burden” on members delivering services in the community.

He said psychiatric nurses across the country “witness daily the consequences of this underfunding, inadequate staffing levels, long waiting lists for essential Camhs services and community supports, and a system that relies all too often on crisis management".

In a statement, HSE Dublin and North East said inpatient provision at St Vincent’s “is planned to transfer to Linn Dara" before September this year. 

It said: “Capacity will be enhanced through the expansion at Linn Dara, including the opening of an additional 11 beds, alongside 20 newly commissioned beds at the Children’s Health Ireland campus.” 

It said there would be no staff redundancies.