An Oireachtas Committee has heard that Waterford and Wexford could be left without any consultant child psychiatrists from the 1st of August.
It's following three resignations from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the region.
The commitee heard from Dr Kieran Moore, a specialist consultant paediatric psychiatrist, who said he and his colleagues were resigning because of 'unsafe' conditions:
"I'm resigning from Wexford becuase it's untenable and unsafe and two of my colleagues are doing the same."
Wexford Fianna Fáil TD Dr James Browne outlined the situation to the committee:
"There’s 3.6 full time equivalents [psychiatrists] down there; one is on sick leave and the other 2.6, if you like, are leaving. So from August 1st there’s going to be no psychiatrist”.
He believes the other CAHMS staff won't be able to do their job effectively after the 1st of August.
Speaking to WLR news, Sinn Fein TD for Waterford David Cullinane said he would be raising the issue with the relevant authorities. He said it was a long-standing issue and very concerning:
"We have known for some time there is a lack of capacity in this service in Waterford and in the South East, and given the seriousness of the issues we're talking here about mental health services for young people for vulnerable adults, I think the Government, the Minister and hospital management need to tackle the issues that exist."
The HSE has assured the public that they're committed to filling such Consultant posts with a national and international recruitment campaign ongoing.
