John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their good work. Reference was made to the shortfall in the number of psychiatrists. Even if the shortfall were addressed, where would we fit in an international league table of psychiatrists per head of population? For most specialties in medicine we are way off the bottom of the charts. I am sorry to catch the witnesses on the hop and I understand if the information is not to hand. What is our ratio of psychiatrists per head of population compared to the United Kingdom, which tends to be second worst in the world among OECD countries for most specialties, and in comparison to an average figure for continental Europe?

This is a specific and technical question. Does Dr. McDaid have any sense of the provision of liaison psychiatry services? I do not know where this fits in the planning for psychiatry services. A great deal of the demand for mental health services comes via other doctors and other illnesses. People develop complications that require psychological care, which I find is often very hard to access.

Could Dr. McDaid also give me a sense of the average waiting time for treatment? I refer to somebody who has a routine psychiatry request from a GP for an outpatient appointment that is not felt to be life threatening; if, for example, somebody has an addiction issue or personal issues which are not felt to put the person in the way of self harm. Approximately how long does a person wait to get seen?