Mental Health Reform is slamming the state for its complacent response to the crisis in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
It's calling for an extra 25 million euro for voluntary and community providers in Budget 2024 to tackle the crisis in youth mental health.
The Mental Health Commission's reports into CAMHS have exposed deficiencies including a failure to monitor children using medication.
The report lists nine areas of concern specifically in relation to the service in Kerry and Cork, including staffing levels, access to CAMHS, and inadequate IT systems.
The report highlights one concern about the level of consultant psychiatrist cover in South Kerry, where currently one consultant covers 23.5 hours a week by telepsychiatry from overseas.
The remaining times are covered by a consultant who works full-time in another team and is available for urgent calls only.
Mental Health Reform CEO, Fiona Coyle says these findings are very worrying:
