Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the information the Minister of State has supplied. I suggest she should visit them. She mentioned upgrades but when I speak to the staff, they are of a different opinion. I encourage her to visit the building in Quin Road and maybe then she will get a clearer picture of what is on the ground.

Last week, it was reported in bothTheClare Championand on Clare FM that an internal staff survey - another red flag on management and communications - found that 94% of respondents felt the Clare CAMHS clinical environment was not suitable for the support of young people. Incredibly,100% agreed or strongly agreed that a shortage of clinical space was putting children supported by the service at risk; 100% also agreed that poor staff retention was putting not just the children and young people who access the service, but also those languishing on waiting lists, at risk; 94% of staff felt their mental health suffered due to poor working conditions; and the same 94% reported staff morale as poor or very poor. Does it make any sense that those who have chosen to work in mental health are now at risk of mental health issues themselves, due to the lack of solution-focused management? Only 6% were happy with staff morale and not one said they would recommend working in CAMHS to a friend or family member. Their experiences, which I have heard, are deplorable. The picture it paints is incredibly stark, which I am sure the Minister appreciates. It pre-empts an imminent mass exodus of staff, which, unfortunately, has already begun from a service dying on its feet due to the recruitment and retention crisis. The issue with staff will have a direct knock-on effect for the service, as not keeping staff affects how the service can manage its emergency rota, which needs experienced staff members to run it.

I want to speak about CAMHS mid-west as a whole. The Minister of State said "crisis" was the wrong terminology; I beg to differ. I raised the independent review, which found that 140 children and young people fell through the cracks, with the Minister of State in the House a few months ago. I was assured then that they were being followed up on. I cannot help but point out the obvious - the lack of clinic space forced nine children to receive no appointment in Clare CAMHS in March, while it also had to postpone 18 and shorten seven. This is precious time and the clock is firmly ticking. I request that Dr. Finnerty’s final report on the independent review be laid before the House upon completion. We cannot put a price on the lives of our children.

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