Committee on Mental Health Care to discuss recruitment issues with Psychiatric Nurses Association and the Irish Medical Organisation

Representatives from the Psychiatric Nurses Association and the Irish Medical Organisation will appear before the Committee.

Committee Chairperson, Joan Freeman, said today, “There are difficulties in the recruitment and retention of psychiatric nurses, consultant psychiatrists and non-consultant doctors which is causing a major obstruction to the functioning of our mental health services and in particular affecting our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.  Irish clinical personnel continue to emigrate in order to avail of better working conditions and pay and the government cannot ignore the fact that more needs to be done to encourage recruitment and retention of Irish clinical staff.  Clinical personnel who opt to work in Ireland are often subject to high levels of workplace stress, an unsustainable workload and lack of career opportunities, when compared with other countries.”

“The Mental Health Service is in severe need of Psychiatric Nurses, Consultant Psychiatrists and non-consultant doctors, a need which is increasing every year. The Committee wants to engage with our witnesses tomorrow in order to discuss how we can ensure that more nurses, consultants and doctors are trained and recruited, and crucially, that they are offered conditions that will actually encourage them to stay in Ireland.”

The meeting will start at 2pm in Committee Room 4, Leinster House.

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