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Created: Thursday, 19 October 2017 10:52
The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) today (Thursday 18 th Oct. ) called for an urgent and coherent response from the Minister for Health, Simon Harris and the HSE to address the deficiencies in the mental health services available to children and adolescents throughout the country identified in the Report of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) published on Wednesday.
PNA General Secretary, Peter Hughes said : ‘This important Report makes for disturbing reading, but its findings will come as no surprise to those who have been identifying the inadequacy, and in some parts of the country the complete absence, of CAMHS services which is impacting hugely on young people, their families and the wider community.
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Created: Thursday, 12 October 2017 15:19
The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) said today (Thursday 12 th October) that the situation where two adults admitted to the Adult Mental Health Unit (AMHU) at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) on Tuesday (Oct. 10 th ) night had to spend the night on chairs is totally unacceptable and highlights once again the lack of adequate community mental health services in the South East.
PNA, General Secretary, Peter Hughes said accommodating patients on chairs because of the lack of beds is intolerable for patients and their families and upsetting for staff.
‘Following an incident in May when a child spent a night on a chair at the Waterford AMHU, PNA got a number of assurances from management that these situations would not be repeated. However, on Tuesday two adults had to spend the night on chairs as there were no beds to admit them to. Once again the appalling lack of investment in community mental health services is having consequences for both staff and service users at this unit which has been over capacity on nearly 20 occasions since January. Our message to management is clear - ‘This has got to stop'.'
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Created: Tuesday, 19 September 2017 12:39
The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has today (Monday 18 th September) called on the HSE to take a number of specific follow up actions in the wake of the publication two weeks ago of a damning Review of Roscommon Mental Health Services. The PNA said its' members have raised a number of serious concerns at meetings last week to consider the Review.
PNA General Secretary has now written to the HSE setting out these concerns and demanding a number of follow up actions by the HSE.
Mr Hughes said PNA has absolutely no confidence in the Implementation Group established to give effect to the Review's recommendations.
‘How can our members have confidence in an Implementation Group that includes some of the Senior Managers referenced in the Review when the report clearly states of the same Senior Managers that “leadership at a number of levels appeared to be ineffective.” , and finds they did not implement recommendations by the Mental Health Commission. In light of these findings it is inconceivable that the same managers would be part of the Implementation Group'.
PNA is now demanding that the proposed Implementation Group is:
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Created: Tuesday, 05 September 2017 21:00
The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) said today (Tuesday, 5th September) that the publication of the HSE Review of Roscommon Mental Health Services was a shocking indictment of management of the services and the extent to which these management failings had compromised the ability of nursing staff to deliver safe standards of care.
The PNA said today’s Review pointed clearly to an emphasis by management on budgets and cost containment over delivery of properly managed services and safe standards of care. It said the finding that budgets were consistently underspent by millions of euro over a number of years highlighted the extent to which the management in Roscommon failed to understand the need for investment in services.
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Created: Tuesday, 29 August 2017 10:10
The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has today (Tuesday, 29th. August ) demanded that 12 staff nursing posts are filled immediately in Acute Mental Health Unit of St. Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny amid growing concerns that understaffing is impacting on the safety of staff and patients.
PNA Industrial Relations Officer, Michael Hayes said the challenges faced by staff in the unit to provide safe and professional care are intolerable and must be addressed urgently by the HSE.
'There are currently 18 patients in the unit with high levels of acuity in some cases, yet for the last two weeks the level of activity in the unit combined with ongoing understaffing has left staff there 'running on empty '. The unit is relying on agency staff and overtime,but this is unsustainable and is compromising the safety of the unit and the quality of care that can be provided there.'
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