Calls for roadmap to support mental health services in Louth
Ruairí Ó Murchú raises underfunding issues in Dáil
Mental health was to the fore as the Dáil returned last week with Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú highlighting specific issues in Louth where services are underfunded and struggling to cope.
The Dundalk deputy, during a debate on the Mental Health Bill, raised the new Pieta House service in the Redeemer Centre and said he had spoken to representatives of SoSAD in the last week about funding. He said: “The service needs a roadmap. It provides a huge amount of support and services for those going through mental health anguish.
“Deputy Mark Ward and I visited Dundalk Counselling Centre. A spectacular amount of work has been done. It is all about sustainable funding and being able to deliver the service.”
He also pointed to the delay in the construction of a ten-bed extension at the Drogheda Department of Psychiatry in Crosslanes and said Louth and Meath have poor bed provision compared with the rest of the State. Deputy Ó Murchú also raised the issue with Taoiseach Simon Harris during Taoiseach’s Questions.
He said: “The ratio is 12.9 beds per 100,000 whereas the State average is greater, although I accept that needs to be increased. At one stage before the moratorium was lifted that there were around 40 nursing mental health service vacancies. Following the lifting of the moratorium, this number became 13. I was told that positions left by nurses acting up no longer exist. If we were to extend that to other disciplines, there would be a greater level of unfilled posts.
“In relation to Crosslanes, the Mental Health Commission stated that at times there was insufficient staffing. It is an issue. While we want the extension, we need to make sure there is a sufficient number of staff to provide a safe service in Crosslanes and the entirety of Louth and Meath.
“I think there were 49 occasions - day shifts and three night shifts - since January 2023 when the approved centre's nursing staff was below the required staff ratio. This presents a worry.” And he also pointed to the fact that there is no 24-hour psychiatry service at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
He said: “At night, this sometimes leads to chaotic circumstances in which people go to Crosslanes when the assessment should happen away from there. It goes from a doctor, to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, to the emergency department. As we face into budget season, it would be good if could deal with some of these issues.”
In response, the Taoiseach said: “I will follow up with the Minister for Health with regard to an update and timeline for the Drogheda department of psychiatry and the issue of nursing and other vacancies in the health service in the Louth-Meath area.”