Kerrane gets confirmation funding will be sought to fill consultant post 

Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon/Galway Claire Kerrane has said that an application for funding for the consultant adult psychiatrist post in the psychiatry of later life (POLL) in the E-Mental Health Hub in Castlerea has been submitted.

Deputy Kerrane has been raising the staffing issues at the Hub continually since it opened in 2020.

Speaking following a meeting with HSE Management, the local TD said:

“I am proud to say that an application for funding for the consultant adult psychiatrist post in the POLL day hospital in the E-Mental Health Hub in Castlerea has been submitted.

“I have been raising the lack of staffing in the POLL service, which is to support older people with mental health difficulties, since the Hub opened.

“Initially, people may recall, I discovered that there was no funding put in place to staff the Hub, either the psychiatry of later life or the CAMHS Connect for children and young people. I ensured funding was made available and since then I have continually sought the staffing make-up of the services to ensure people could actually access those services.

“The consultant post was always of concern and needs to be filled.” Given the Rosalie Home was closed, “it is unforgivable not to staff the Hub and not to provide the services in it”.

“I recently highlighted a HSE reply to me that stated the consultant position and two other positions in the psychiatry of later life had been decommissioned,” she said.

“And so, I am glad that a funding application has been made. These positions need to be filled, and I appreciate that is not always easy but it's impossible if the post is pulled, which had been the plan.

“I will continue to pursue this until all positions are filled.”