Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise very serious concerns about mental health services in my locality. A young man aged 19 is currently in a psychiatric ward in a public hospital because he wants help and his family wants help for him as they no longer feel they can keep him safe. He has attempted suicide twice and has threatened it again. The young man's personality completely changed two years ago. His family want tests done to establish exactly what the issue is. The hospital wants to discharge him. A consultant psychiatrist said to the family that if something happens to him, the family should not come back with a solicitor. His diagnosis from his short time in CAMHS has been dismissed. He is not being given the medication he has been prescribed while in hospital. A home-based support team was promised in February after a suicide attempt, but that never materialised and as a result the man is back on a psychiatric ward just two months later. Properly resourced mental health services are required urgently so that people can get the help they require irrespective of ability to pay. I want this issue raised with the Minister.

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