Over a quarter of senior psychiatry posts in Northern Ireland are vacant or covered by expensive locums.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists gathered information from all five health trusts, finding that 29% of consultant posts are either vacant or covered by locum doctors.
Pressures on SAS specialist psychiatrists (senior doctors who work alongside consultants) were also highlighted.
With 79 SAS psychiatrist posts across Northern Ireland in March 2025, only 52 were filled by permanent doctors – with the rest left vacant or filled by temporary staff.
The College say the workforce crisis is deepening at a time when mental health needs are increasing.
Dr Julie Anderson, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland, said: “These figures show the true scale of the workforce pressures facing mental health services in Northern Ireland.
“They also highlight how increasingly difficult it is for mental health services to provide consistent, high-quality care for our patients, especially at a time when we’re being asked to do more and more with less, as a result of various initiatives.
“Behind these numbers are people – some of them vulnerable – who are waiting far too long for the support they so desperately need.”
With mental illness often starting earlier in life than many physical health conditions, Dr Anderson said without effective treatment this can become chronic and later increase the risk of later physical illness.
By contrast, she said early intervention improves outcomes and can reduce future pressure on health services.
“Northern Ireland has historically faced years of chronic underfunding and despite having a greater mental health need, we continue to receive less funding than other parts of the UK,” Dr Anderson said.
“At the same time, we still don’t have comprehensive regional data on mental health waiting lists, meaning the true scale of unmet need remains very unclear.
“Its clear things need to change – everyone should be working together to secure solutions to this continuing workforce crisis.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said they were “acutely aware of the challenges faced by the psychiatry workforce in responding to increasing demand and growing complexity in the face of high vacancy rates”.
“Officials work closely with the Royal College on a range of workstreams which aim to address these challenges,” they said.
“The Mental Health Strategy remains the key vehicle for driving systemic reform in NI. The Minister has been clear that delivering the Strategy requires sustained and additional investment and he will continue to make the case for mental health until the ambition so clearly set out in 2021 is fully realised.”
The spokesperson said the Mental Health Strategy Review of Deliverability 2026-2029 report confirmed that “no additional funding has been made available to implement the Strategy and that, as of the end of 2024/25, just 16% of the funding expected at that stage had been allocated from existing resources”.
“The Review was carried out to refocus and prioritise activity within the Department’s constrained budget, while also reiterating that the full Strategy remains essential for driving the transformation of mental health services,” they added.