Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When I visited the emergency department, ED, in South Tipperary General Hospital, I was delighted to meet the team operating there. All mental health patients attending the ED are triaged in accordance with assessed clinical need with the objective of referring them as soon as possible to the HSE mental health service when they are discharged from the ED. The ED has a 24-hour mental health nurse liaison service for mental health patients, seven days a week. This was put in place in 2012 when St. Michael's closed down. Many other areas in Ireland would love to have similar supports. I spoke at length to the mental health liaison nurse on duty, who is one of three who deliver this 24-hour service. We discussed many issues that were raised with me previously, including voluntary and involuntary admissions, transfer of service users, assessment and the department of psychiatry. There are two rooms dedicated for that purpose. One is for the nurses and the other is for the patient as soon as he or she enters the ED and has been triaged. I will give the commitment I gave previously, which is that I will continue to work with all Deputies in Tipperary to try to improve the mental health services there.

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