A 16-year-old was admitted to the adult acute mental health unit at University Hospital Waterford last week where she spent the night on a chair, according to the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA).
The union said staff at the unit were “extremely concerned” at the incident which was “completely unacceptable”.
It was the fifth case of a child being admitted to the adult unit in Waterford this year, the PNA added.
Michael Hayes, the union’s industrial relations officer said the incident highlighted the crisis in staffing, beds and community services in mental health services in the south east.
“Not only was this child admitted to an adult unit, but there was not even a bed available and the child spent the night on a chair. No child should be put in this situation,” he said.
Mr Hayes said the incident “is not an isolated event” with some patients being cared for in interview rooms.
“Since January the unit has been over capacity on 17 occasions. This has led to patients being nursed in interview rooms. The service is licensed by the Mental Health Commission to operate a 44 bed unit but this number has increased to 48 on several occasions this year.”
The Mental Health Commission (MHC) is due to report on the Waterford unit on May 15th. Previous inspection reviews by the MHC found critical levels of noncompliance in the unit.
According to the PNA, child and adolescent mental health beds and community mental health services promised under the HSE's A Vision for Change have never materialised.
Regulations
In a statement, the HSE said the Waterford psychiatry unit “on occasion... is required to extend beyond its licence”. In such circumstances, it was required to comply with all mental health regulations.
“A number of factors contribute to the admission of children to adult units, including increased referrals to Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), community CAMHS capacity, change in clinical need/complexity of cases, emergency and out of hours CAMHS services, geographical considerations, increase in referrals for admission, increase in admissions and clinical needs profile of children presenting for admission.”
Meanwhile, psychiatric nurses at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services have voted in favour of industrial action over the closure of the defined benefit pension scheme without staff consultation.
In the inter-union group ballot, 97 per cent voted in favour of industrial action with an 88 per cent overall turnout of those eligible to vote. The group has issued management with notice of industrial action to commence on May 24th.
Nurses claim the decision to close the defined benefit scheme, which is fully funded, reneges on an agreement reached with the St Patrick’s Hospital, the Pensions Board and trustees. The defined benefit scheme, which is due to close from June 2nd, currently has 274 active members and 224 deferred members.
PNA general secretary Peter Hughes said the high level of turnout in the ballot reflects the “anger and dismay of staff” at the hospital’s decision to close the scheme.
“We are calling on St Patrick’s to pull back from their unfair and unreasonable action to close the staff pension scheme which will have serious implications for the legitimate pension expectations of the defined benefit scheme members.”
