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Children with severe mental health problems are being admitted to adult psychiatric wards, due to a lack of age-appropriate facilities.<\/p>\nChildren with severe mental health problems are being admitted to adult psychiatric wards, due to a lack of age-appropriate facilities.<\/p>\n
Concerned parents in Co. Wexford say they are currently in a \u201cliving hell\u201d, with one doctor resigning in protest, as the county\u2019s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) continue to deplete.<\/p>\n
Ray Shannon, a single father, whose 16-year-old son first attempted suicide at 14, says his child is being denied essential treatment.<\/p>\n
At one point was forced to travel over 200km to Cork to try and have him assessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suicide attempt was terrifying, a scary experience. He\u2019s bipolar and was hearing voices telling him to harm himself,\u201d Mr Shannon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were actually waiting for an emergency CAMHS appointment to see a psychiatrist and it was in that time he tried to hang himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was taken to Wexford General Hospital for five weeks as the county has no children\u2019s CAMHS beds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he was admitted, we were told it could be 13 weeks before a CAMHS bed became available elsewhere, and while in Wexford General, he tried to hurt himself again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWexford General is not set up to treat children with mental health problems, so he was transferred to St John of God in Dublin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray has three other children, who he was forced to leave with family members when he made the over 90-minute journey almost daily to see his son at St John of God psychiatric hospital, where he was admitted for five weeks.<\/p>\n
In some cases, children from Wexford are also sent to the Department of Psychiatry at University Hospital Waterford, which is an adult mental health facility, and cannot provide age-appropriate care.<\/p>\n
There has been no full-time psychologist in Wexford since Dr Kieran Moore\u2019s resignation in July, and the county is now serviced by a doctor who conducts emergency appointments, travelling from Galway two days a week.<\/p>\n
It took him hitting rock bottom before anyone would take any notice – he went through hell in Waterford<\/p>\n
Sandra Mulhall, a widow, says her 16 year-old son\u2019s condition has severely deteriorated after being kept in an adult facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had been trying for a number of years to get help for Adam, and he was brought to the adult psychiatric ward in Waterford twice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had full-time carers, but Adam had an outburst, he tried to stab me and tried to cut his own wrists, so the carers left due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was assessed, and when the doctor said he had to go back to hospital, Adam was handcuffed and taken in a van to Waterford Hospital against his will. He was kept there for a month over Christmas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took him hitting rock bottom before anyone would take any notice. He went through hell in Waterford.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mental Health Commission (MHC) published a report in 2018, that found children continue to be admitted to adult mental health facilities deemed inappropriate to their needs.<\/p>\n
A Department of Health spokesman said: \u201cThere are widely acknowledged difficulties in recruiting and retaining specialist CAMHS staff, particularly consultant psychiatrists.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecruitment efforts continue, including local and international advertising.<\/p>\n
\u201cA CAMHS Consultant post has recently been filled in North Wexford and there is currently one post vacant in south Wexford.\u201d<\/p>\n
A rally calling for more CAMHS beds in Wexford has been organised for May 4.<\/p>\n