Man with mental health problems spent three days in A&E over lack of beds, Dáil told

Dáil discusses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health, with junior health minister Mary Butler admitting it 'has been very challenging' 

Dublin West Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly said in his constituency, a young man spent three days in the emergency department after a mental breakdown which prompted armed gardaí to be called. File photo: Collins

A young man experiencing a mental health episode spent three days in a hospital emergency department due to a lack of adequate beds, the Dáil has been told.

The Dáil met early today to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health, with junior health minister Mary Butler saying that it "has been very challenging". 

"Some people are finding it more difficult than others. Financial and employment worries have caused anxiety and the disease itself has caused significant stress. This has been exacerbated, in many cases, by isolation and bereavement."

Dublin West Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly told the chamber that in his constituency, a young man spent three days in the emergency department after a mental breakdown which prompted armed gardaí to be called.

"I was contacted by a mother who was upset and distraught about her son, who had a mental health breakdown. The emergency services and gardaí were called before an armed response unit was eventually called to try to deal with the case. The person was brought to Connolly Hospital, where he was told he would be admitted. Unfortunately, the unit there was locked down because of Covid-19. 

"He was told he would get a service somewhere else and although he waited all day, that did not materialise. He was in the accident and emergency department for three solid days before staff eventually told him it was not an appropriate place for him, and that was absolutely correct. 

Unfortunately, there was not a single bed available for him in the entire State. The man was told to go home and his mother asked what would happen if another episode took place, as he was still in a distressed state. 

"She was told to call the gardaí."

Ms Butler said that while she could not comment on individual cases, staffing at units had been hit by Covid.

"There are currently many challenges and some of the units had to close because of significant Covid-19 outbreaks. Unfortunately, many staff are out on Covid-related breaks. This has an impact on whether units can remain open."

Fianna Fáil TD for Longford-Westmeath Joe Flaherty raised a case of a man in St Loman's Hospital in Mullingar who has spent 110 days in isolation.

Mr Flaherty said that the young man has been told that intensive rehabilitation is being sought but has yet to be secured.

"Christmas for this young man and his family was a nightmare. On one side of a window in St. Loman's Hospital, his mother desperately hoped she would never see another Christmas like it. 

As the days turned into weeks and months, the young man grew ever more frustrated and, unfortunately, last Friday he lashed out at a fellow patient and was returned to isolation. 

"Needless to say, his family are crestfallen, fearing that the prospect of a possible recovery has been all but quashed. The promise of that intensive rehab lies in the balance, as is the promise of a life and of a future. Thankfully, he was released from isolation last night but he is heavily sedated and medicated.

"This is just one young man caught on the mental health treadmill, a seemingly never-ending cycle of uncertainty and bleakness that, unfortunately, has been fuelled by Covid. For this young man and his family, I plead with the HSE to get him the care he so desperately needs."