Daly demands answers as over 50% of mental health referrals not accepted in County Roscommon

Recent figures from the HSE have raised serious questions about access to psychiatric care across Roscommon and East Galway, according to Dr Martin Daly TD who has now demanded answers.

The Ballygar GP says figures uncovered by him show that over 50% of referrals to the Roscommon and Boyle Adult Community Mental Health Team were not accepted during the first six months of 2026.

The figures, obtained through a Parliamentary Question submitted by Dr Daly, also reveal that almost 37% of referrals to the Ballinasloe and Portumna Adult Community Mental Health Team were not accepted during the same period.

The Psychiatry of Later Life service covering Roscommon and North Galway recorded a non-acceptance rate of over 43%.

By comparison, approximately 21% of referrals were not accepted by the Tuam and Loughrea Adult Community Mental Health Team.

Dr Daly, also a practising GP, described the findings as “deeply concerning” and said the significant differences between services demanded immediate explanation.

“These figures are staggering. More than half of referrals in Roscommon and Boyle were not accepted, while in Ballinasloe and Portumna the figure is almost 37%. We cannot simply accept that this is how our mental health services should operate,” he said this evening.

“When an experienced GP refers a patient for specialist psychiatric assessment, there is a clinical reason for doing so. We are not asking that every patient be taken into psychiatric care indefinitely. We are asking for access to the specialist expertise needed to make an informed clinical decision,” he said.

Dr Daly said concerns have emerged among GPs that referrals are being declined following reviews of written referral letters, without patients necessarily receiving a direct psychiatric assessment.

“What concerns me is that a GP can identify the need for a specialist psychiatric opinion, yet the referral may be declined before that patient has even been assessed by the specialist service.

“We are general practitioners, not consultant psychiatrists. There are limits to what can appropriately be managed in general practice, and when we seek specialist advice, there must be a meaningful pathway to obtain it,” he stressed.

Dr Daly questioned whether the high percentages of referrals not accepted could reflect wider issues surrounding service capacity, staffing and the application of clinical referral criteria.

“Why is the percentage of referrals not accepted in Roscommon and Boyle more than double that of Tuam and Loughrea? Are different clinical thresholds being applied? Is this a staffing or capacity issue,” he asked.

He has now called on the HSE to explain this disparity. “If services are struggling with capacity, we need to know that. What we cannot have is a situation where patients who require specialist input are unable to access it and the responsibility simply returns to already stretched general practice.” Dr Daly also expressed serious concern about what happens to patients whose referrals are not accepted.

“When a referral is returned to a GP, what happens to that patient? Are they offered appropriate alternative care? Who ensures they receive the treatment they need? Or are they simply left trying to manage without the specialist assessment their doctor considered necessary?

“That is the fundamental question here. We need to know whether patients are falling through the cracks.” The Roscommon Galway TD also raised concerns regarding the discharge of patients with enduring mental illnesses who experience difficulty attending appointments.

“There are people living with serious mental health conditions whose illnesses can make it extremely difficult to attend appointments. Conditions such as severe anxiety and agoraphobia can have a devastating impact on a person’s ability to leave their home,” he explained.

“We need to examine whether adequate safeguards are in place to prevent vulnerable patients losing access to established psychiatric care because of difficulties directly associated with their illness.” Dr Daly also questioned whether waiting time statistics accurately reflect the difficulties some patients experience accessing mental health services.

“We hear about targets for seeing patients within three months. But what about those whose referrals are not accepted in the first place? They never even make it onto the waiting list.” “A service can report reasonable waiting times for accepted referrals, but that tells us very little about the patients who are unable to access an appointment at all.” Dr Daly confirmed that he has submitted a further series of detailed Parliamentary Questions seeking information on referral criteria, psychiatric assessment procedures, staffing levels, the discharge of patients following missed appointments and the process for reviewing referrals that have not been accepted.

He is also seeking clarity on whether patients who are not accepted into specialist services subsequently receive appropriate alternative care.

“I fully accept that not every referral will meet the criteria for specialist psychiatric treatment. But when over 50% of referrals are not accepted in one area and almost 37% in another, we need to understand exactly why,” he stressed.

“This is not a criticism of the dedicated doctors, nurses and mental health professionals working within our services. It is about ensuring those services have the resources and clinical pathways necessary to meet the needs of patients.

“People across Roscommon, Ballinasloe, Boyle, Castlerea and East Galway deserve access to appropriate mental health care. Nobody should be left without necessary specialist support because of where they live or because a service is struggling to meet demand.

“As both a GP and a TD, I find these figures extremely concerning. I intend to pursue this with the Minister for Health and the HSE until we have a clear explanation of what is happening and what action will be taken,” concluded Dr. Daly.