Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 June 2022
231. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the actions he will take in relation to the closure of beds in the busiest inpatient unit in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in the country ensure that resources are put in place so that these beds are re-opened as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28505/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI was informed by the HSE on 11 May 2022 that due to recruitment challenges, the number of operational beds in the Linn Dara CAMHS unit must be reduced from 24 to 13 on a temporary basis. No patient has been or will be discharged early from the unit.
This regrettable situation has arisen because a number of nursing posts have become vacant simultaneously at Linn Dara for various reasons. I wish to stress that this is not due to lack of financial resources but solely because the nursing compliment available through the use of permanent and agency staff is no longer sufficient to continue to provide a full 24 bed in-patient service to a safe standard.
The HSE expect that the reduction in beds will continue until September next when new nursing graduates become available. The Executive will continue intense efforts to recruit staff as quickly as possible, with the skills and competencies to meet the needs of young people in this specialist unit. All four CAMHS units nationally will work collaboratively to maximise the use of existing national CAMHS bed capacity over coming months to minimise the impact of this development at Linn Dara.
While the reduction in capacity in Linn Dara will have an impact on waiting lists, the demand for in-patient beds in CAMHS units over the summer months is usually around half the normal level of capacity. Access to the CAMHS system is based on clinical assessment, with urgent cases prioritised.
The Deputy can rest assured that I will, in conjunction with the HSE, continue to closely monitor the position in relation to Linn Dara.
