CAMHS bed capacity
Deputy Pat Buckley said CAMHS was operating below planned bed levels and asked if the Government was going backwards. Minister of State Jim Daly said it was not, explained that bed closures arise for complex safety and management reasons, and said he had met CAMHS management teams.
In the programme for Government a commitment is given to build further capacity for the child and adolescent mental health service, CAMHS. Last year I was informed by the Government that an additional 114 assistant psychologists and 20 psychologists would be recruited, which I welcomed. In a response to a parliamentary question this month it was stated CAMHS was operating with only 39 out of 72 in-patient beds nationally. As of 26 November, there were 44 out of 74 beds in use.
Despite the commitment the Government made, does it accept that we are going backwards in this area?
Comment on this
We are certainly not going backwards. Yesterday I met the national management teams of CAMHS, including representatives from the nine community healthcare organisations, CHOs, the clinical leads and the management leads. We discussed this issue, along with many other issues, challenges and successes involved with CAMHS.
The issue of beds closing is very complex and can happen for a variety of reasons. It is often attributed to the behaviour of some patients who cannot be managed, meaning that beds have to be closed for safety reasons. A facility is currently closed because of the extensive damage that was done to it. Clinical cover is also an issue at times. It is an ongoing challenge and is one we are acutely aware of and are dealing with as best we can on all levels, including the HSE management and the clinical team.