Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

We spoke about this issue on Thursday when there was an in-depth debate about the present situation in CAMHS. I said on Thursday and I will say again that the lack of clinical oversight was the main critique of the interim report by the Mental Health Commission. Without oversight, there will be serious issues in regard to everything relating to a service such as CAMHS. I acknowledge the work that the staff in CAMHS do. They do a very good job. It is a vital service for young people in distress. Recovery is possible once they get the proper intervention. Children and young people can recover from trauma and lead fulfilling lives. That is what we all want. The lack of clinical oversight is an indictment on the CHOs that run CAMHS. Alarm bells ring for anybody with an element of knowledge about this. When children are on anti-psychotic medication for years without oversight, there is something very wrong. The lack of clinical oversight leads to problems with retention and burnout of staff. They are only human beings. It also leads to underfunding.

A good example of a service that should operate on full capacity is Linn Dara in Ballyfermot. Linn Dara is an amazing facility. It is a primary care inpatient centre for young people. However, every couple of years it has to close for a few months due to a lack of staff. That is a huge problem. It should not be closing under any circumstances. It has to close because it is extremely difficult to keep staff at the moment in our health service, particularly in CAMHS. How can we fix this? This is the most important thing. People are looking for solutions and do not want this to happen again. I hope the report, which will be finalised by the end of the year, will lay out why this happened and how it will not happen again.

The report is so serious that it warrants an independent inquiry into how this was allowed to happen and the implications for children. Children may be looking in on this debate with their parents who will ask serious questions of services that they thought could be trusted to look after children in their time of need but they were not looked after to the best standards. Once that happens there is a breakdown of trust. There are serious consequences in regard to children’s mental health, families and so forth. I do not know the Minister of State’s stance on this but I believe the seriousness of the interim report means that an independent inquiry should be put together on its findings now or in the future when the report is finalised.

See this speech in context