HSE admits no EDs meet minimum self-harm staffing levels
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No emergency departments currently meet the minimum level of staffing for people presenting with self-harm.
A HSE response to a parliamentary question by Sinn Féin spokesperson on mental health Mark Ward says that while a number of hospitals across the country have a liaison psychiatry service, none is staffed to the level set out in A Vision For Change, the national mental health strategy.
The document says that Liaison mental health services should be provided by one multidisciplinary team per regional hospital — which equates to roughly one team per catchment area or 13 teams nationally.
Liaison psychiatry is a sub-specialty of adult psychiatry and refers to clinical services which deliver care where mental and physical health overlap.
The HSE response to Mr Ward reads: "Liaison Psychiatry services are available in all acute hospitals in Ireland with an Emergency Department, nine Model 4 hospitals, 18 Model 3 hospitals, and 2 tertiary paediatric hospitals.
"No services currently meet the minimum level of staffing as per A Vision for Change, with work ongoing to develop a Liaison Psychiatry Model of Care in collaboration with the Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry at the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland."
Mr Ward said the work of such teams is crucial and emergency departments specifically need to be resourced as a matter of urgency.
"A key component of the work of the liaison psychiatry team is the emergency departments of their hospitals. This service is provided to people who present with self-harm," he said.
“It is crucial to have appropriate mental health services available so that people can access the care they need when they need it and where they need it. The €24m in new spending for mental health announced by the Government does not go anywhere near far enough.”
The HSE also gave Mr Ward a provisional answer on the number of people presenting to hospitals with self-harm in 2020. The National Self-Harm Registry Ireland (NSHRI), operated by the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) and funded by the HSE's National Office for Suicide Prevention, collects data on self-harm presentations to 15 hospital emergency departments.
It found the NSHRI recorded a total of 5,432 self-harm presentations to the 15 hospitals during January-December 2020, equivalent to 14.8 self-harm presentations per day.
A total of 11,169 self-harm presentations to these 15 hospitals were recorded for the 24 months of 2018-2019, equating to a rate of 15.3 per day.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and the Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler have welcomed the permanent establishment of the psychology assistant grade within the health service, which Ms Butler said "marks a significant achievement in promoting enhanced access to vital primary care psychology supports".
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