Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are certainly not going backwards. Yesterday I met the national management teams of the child and adolescent mental health service, CAMHS, including representatives from the nine community healthcare organisations, CHOs, the clinical leads and the management leads. We discussed this issue, along with many other issues, challenges and successes involved with CAMHS.

The issue of beds closing is very complex and can happen for a variety of reasons. It is often attributed to the behaviour of some patients who cannot be managed, meaning that beds have to be closed for safety reasons. A facility is currently closed because of the extensive damage that was done to it. Clinical cover is also an issue at times. It is an ongoing challenge and is one we are acutely aware of and are dealing with as best we can on all levels, including the HSE management and the clinical team.

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