Food restrictions leave children at short-staffed Cork mental health unit ‘very hungry’, report finds

Residents at the Eist Linn in-patient unit in Bessborough told inspectors they faced strict limits on food and wanted greater access to snacks, while the service continued to grapple with significant staffing shortages

The report by the Mental Health Commission also found there were 10 vacant nursing posts, with the service relying on agency staff and overtime to maintain adequate staffing levels. File photo

A lack of access to food left residents "very hungry" at a Cork in-patient mental health centre for children and adolescents, a new report has found.

An inspection of the Eist Linn centre in Bessborough by the Mental Health Commission found the service's capacity had been reduced due to significant staffing shortages across multiple disciplines.

To mitigate the risks, operational bed capacity was cut from 16 to 10 beds and out-of-hours admissions were suspended.

The report found there were 10 vacant nursing posts, with the service relying on agency staff and overtime to maintain adequate staffing levels.

One of two social worker posts had been vacant since December 2024, while both consultant psychiatrist posts had been unfilled since November 2025 and January 2026. A part-time pharmacist position had been vacant since January 2024.

While approval had been granted to recruit for the roles, and some appointments were at an advanced stage, management reported significant delays in progressing candidates through the final stages of the recruitment process.

Residents interviewed as part of the inspection said they had enough  to occupy themselves with during the day and activities offered were good. However, they reported a lack of variety in the food choices available.

Residents reported that they sometimes felt "very hungry" during the day due to heavy restrictions on food and said they wanted greater flexibility around the provision of snacks.

Overall, the centre was found to have one critical non-compliance, four high-risk non-compliances, and one moderate non-compliance. This compares with four moderate and two high-risk non-compliances identified during the 2025 inspection.

The critical non-compliance related to the 'Code of Practice on Admission, Transfer and Discharge', an area in which the centre has been found non-compliant at every annual inspection since 2023.

Inspectors reviewed the clinical file of one young person admitted to the centre and found it had not been clinically determined that the patient required immediate in-patient mental health care.

They also found that the decision to admit the young person had not been made solely by a registered medical practitioner or consultant psychiatrist, as required.

As the process for emergency admission to the approved centre was not followed, it was not determined if the young person was admitted to the approved centre most appropriate to meet their needs.

The HSE, which manage the centre, said the admissions policy has been revised to clarify admission criteria, decision-making responsibilities, escalation pathways, and governance requirements.

The revised policy will be circulated to all relevant clinical and management staff. The Irish Examiner contacted the HSE for comment.