Tipperary councillor discovers large staffing gaps in local mental health services

Nenagh's councillor Seamus Morris recently completed an investigation into the mental health services available to people in his local area. As part of his research, he asked the HSE: "Are there any gaps in providing Mental Health Care at Dromin Road in Nenagh, what are the gaps and when did the gaps become apparent and how are they being addressed and what staffing positions are vacant and since when?"

The answer he received explained: "The Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) in Nenagh comprises of Clinical, Consultant, Nursing, Therapy and Administration Staff. With such teams, there can be a turnover of staff due to promotions, resignations, sick leave, retirement, maternity leave, etc. Outlined below is the detail as requested."

The answer went on to say that in Nenagh CMHT, there is usually a senior psychologist and a staff grade psychologist, however there has been no staff grade psychologist since February 2023 despite continued efforts to hire one over the past two years. A new senior clinical psychologist is also expected to take up a post this month. 

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A vacant post for a clinical nurse specialist at CMHT was filled in March but there was no clinical nurse specialist employed for a period of almost two years prior to this.

There is currently no social worker on the team as this post became vacant recently. A recruitment process is underway.

There is also no occupational therapist on the team and this position has been vacant since 2023, there is a recuriment process underway here also.

An administration staff member retired from their post in June 2024 and since then this post has also been vacant.

Cllr Morris' research and the following answers show significant gaps in local mental health care services, as a result you would have to imagine that there are less services available to people that need them. It's quite shocking to see that this has been the case for years in some cases when the area of mental health services is an extremely vital one that should be prioritised in terms of ensuring it is kept well-staffed.