Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have to be honest with the Minister of State. The HSE is just not fit for purpose. The Minister of State mentioned that the HSE only wanted to audit the 46% that were ADHD. It would be easy to audit them when it is not actually seeing them. When CAMHS has not done an assessment for six months, what is it going to audit? The next thing it will be telling the Minister of State is that it will not do one for 12 months and it will audit that year, when there is nothing to audit.

The reality is that CAMHS in Wexford has had 28 anorexic patients, but we do not have a paediatric dietician. I have persistently asked for a full-time equivalent to be placed in Wexford. We got no more than a half-time post, but the position has not been filled. How long will it take the HSE to stop looking at its model of employment? CAMHS has been telling me for two years, and saying in writing, that it is following the model set down by the HSE. We must apply on a critical skills basis for people outside the country. Permit employees needs to be done today; it needed to be done yesterday. The Minister of State is sick of hearing it, I am sick of hearing it and, most of all, the patients are sick of hearing it.

When it comes to Wexford, I suppose what the Minister of State said with regard to rotation would make practical sense on some level, but not in this case. I will explain why. The man has been in Wexford for 30 years. He made a written complaint about the consultant psychiatrist. I am telling the Minister of State that now, and that is at the back of this. I am glad to hear there is an audit, because this man will not be moving on 16 May. We will be down a clinical nurse specialist either in the north or in CAMHS in Arden House. He is not going anywhere; he is certainly not moving. He did not ask to move and there is no need for him to move. There are four clinical nurse specialists in the north. There are only two in south Wexford and one is going on maternity leave. She has ten years' experience. Both are going to be replaced with the lesser clinical nurse, one who is acting with less than two years' experience.

I do not mean to raise my voice to the Minister of State. I know perfectly well that she and I have come through this together. We are both learning, but I am learning very quickly because I have been getting the same letters for two years. I cannot stick it anymore. It is not good enough to be providing a service in name only. We have to show the fruits.

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