Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of psychiatric services for those under 18 years of age on the north side of Cork city. I came across a number of cases in the last few weeks in which people under 18 who require access to a psychiatric consultant have had huge difficulty because that position has been vacant for a number of months. A locum was put in place but the locum has also resigned. As a result, young people are not able to get access to psychiatric services. It is extremely worrying. It is worrying for parents and the young people themselves.

What is wrong is that there seems to be an entrenched position that if people come from a particular area then a consultant from another area is not entitled or prepared to see them. I am not clear how the boundaries were established. I always thought medicine was about providing assistance and help when people required it and that there were no barriers or a Berlin Wall put around the place so that no one could deal with a patient from a particular area if there was no consultant appointed for that area. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister in to deal with this issue.I have raised it with the Minister's office already. I have also raised it directly with the HSE, including the chief executive officer of the South/South West hospital group. I have discussed it with the people in charge, but it does not seem that progress is being made. I am not blaming any one person for this. It is not good enough that someone who went into an accident and emergency department in April of this year has not yet had a consultation with a consultant psychiatrist. It is wrong that the person in question cannot get on the CAMHS scheme until a full report is prepared by a consultant. I ask for this matter to be given priority so that this person can get the required treatment and some reassurance can be given to the parents.