Mental health care in Donegal 'in crisis'

Donegal's inadequate services for mental health patients and their families have been brought under the microscope again.

Saturday's Day of Action protest, organised as a result of chronic overcrowding at Letterkenny University Hospital, heard examples of how mental health services in the county are also at breaking point.

The gathering heard of one family, whose daughter made 25 suicide attempts in a three-year period.

“It is devastating,” organiser Mary T Sweeney said.

'Staff are exhausted, they are ready to collapse', hospital protest hears

A Day of Action protest was held on Saturday to highlight overcrowding issues that continue to wreck havoc at Letterkenny University Hospital.

“It is tragic. We have never had as low a ration of mental health doctors to patients.

“I am compelling the Health Forum people to look at this. It is totally inadequate.

“These people are being pushed into the ED and they don't need the ED. There should be services in the community.”

Ms Sweeney said there is an 'escalating' and the number of adults requiring mental health care was described as 'horrendous'.

“Whole families are in crisis here,” Ms Sweeney said. “It needs major attention.

“We know of one man who has phoned 31 times for an ambulance service.

“It takes and hour for the ambulance to get to him, an hour to get him stabilised and another hour to get back.

“We are losing a three-hour block from the ambulance rota for a person who needed a mental health facility.

“There are not enough people or resources being put in to support families living with someone who has mental health issues. It is a crisis and we have got to do something about it.”