Staffing shortfalls at psychiatric facilities in focus at Mental Health Committee

The Committee led by Senator Joan Freeman is seeking to identify the scale of staffing shortfalls for doctors and nurses in many of the nation’s mental health facilities and to recommend recruitment and retention reforms.

Among the witnesses scheduled to appear starting at 1:30 p.m. in Committee Room 4 are:

• Rosarii Mannion, national director of human resources for the Health Service Executive, and Eithne Fox, HSE assistant national director;
• Martin Varley, secretary general of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association;
• Peter Hughes, general secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, and Aisling Culhane, the PNA’s research and development advisor; and
• Fiona Tierney, chief executive of the Public Appointments Service.

Wednesday’s meeting can be viewed live here.

It also can be viewed live on Android and Apple devices using the Houses of the Oireachtas app.