Dual-pathway emergency department
Peter Roche sought progress on a proposed dual-pathway system for mental health presentations at University Hospital Galway. The Minister of State said budget 2026 had funded crisis-resolution responses and staffing for emergency departments in ten hospitals.
Tomorrow will being a dignified and respectful protest to University College Hospital in Galway, where people will be campaigning for a dual-pathway system in our emergency department. People who present in emergency departments with acute mental health issues need a different environment in which they can be triaged separately and given a moment to become calm and to have their concerns heard by the appropriate personnel. They are there because they are seeking help and support. They want to meet the people who will support them. I support this concept fully. Where are we at with regard to that plan going forward and a dual-pathway system for those who are acutely challenged by mental health issues?
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and for his constant advocacy on in respect of those who have mental health challenges, disorders and illnesses. As he knows, budget 2026 focused on the provision of a crisis resolution response, especially for those who attend acute hospitals out of hours.
I was able to secure the funding, and I want to thank the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for her work with me on this, for our nine model 4 hospitals and one model 3 hospital, so there are ten hospitals in total where each emergency department out of hours will be provided with four clinical nurse specialists or advanced nurse practitioners who will be able to support the non-consultant hospital doctor on call to deal with that crisis. We are working very hard. There are six hospitals that do not have that additional room capacity with regard to emergency departments to make sure that there is a quiet space there, so I can speak to the Deputy about it offline. The crisis resolution response and the crisis cafés are where we are going.