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Irish Hospital Consultants Association calls for greater investment as part of ‘Care Can’t Wait’ campaign More than one-in-four approved permanent consultant psychiatry posts are vacant or only temporarily filled, according to new figures provided to the Irish Hospitals Consultants Association (IHCA). The data, released to the organisation under Freedom of Information legislation, showed that 156 (28 per cent) of the 548 approved positions had not been permanently filled by March 1 last. This consisted of 52 totally vacant posts, 28 posts filled by agency staff, a further 74 posts filled on a temporary/locum basis and two posts of ‘unknown’ status which the IHCA believes are likely vacant.

In CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services), a report released last month by HSE National Doctors Training and Planning showed that a third of approved permanent consultant psychiatry posts (44 posts or 35 per cent) were either vacant or filled on a temporary basis at the end of 2023. The figures are revealed as a leading child psychiatrist warned of a crisis in children’s mental health post-pandemic. Irish-trained Dr Elaine Lockhart , who is the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Child and Adolescent Faculty based in Scotland, said that she has witnessed a surge in referrals and an increase in very sick young people, particularly those with eating disorders, self-harm and suicidality.



“What we were seeing before Covid was an increase in social inequality w.

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