{"id":316534,"date":"2026-02-25T13:31:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/316534\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:31:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:31:06","slug":"calls-for-separate-units-for-mental-health-emergencies-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/316534\/","title":{"rendered":"Calls for separate units for mental health emergencies \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The \u201crevolving-door nature\u201d of visits to emergency departments by those in mental distress<\/a> is \u201cforcing our loved ones to end their lives\u201d, an Oireachtas committee has heard.<\/p>\n

Joe Loughnane, who has been advocating for separate admission units for those in mental health emergencies, told the Public Petitions Committee on Tuesday evening he believed his brother<\/a> would still be alive if such units existed in Ireland.<\/p>\n

The committee was considering his petition to establish mental health emergency departments and 24\/7 crisis care centres.<\/p>\n

Loughnane, whose online petition<\/a> has garnered more than 21,600 signatures, described his younger brother Adam Loughnane as a \u201cgentle\u201d and \u201cacademically gifted young man\u201d who suffered from suicidal ideation in the later years of his life.<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old presented to University Hospital Galway\u2019s emergency department on February 11th, 2025, and during that visit told staff \u201cnumerous times that he wanted to end his life\u201d, Loughnane said.<\/p>\n

He was subsequently triaged and advised to wait in the emergency room for psychiatric review.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe waited over an hour and a half before walking out and ending his life,\u201d Loughnane told the committee.<\/p>\n

He said his brother\u2019s death was not the fault of staff members, who are \u201coverworked\u201d and \u201cunderpaid\u201d, saying instead, \u201cthe system failed him\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Adam had been advised to attend a more appropriate setting for someone experiencing a mental health crisis, I genuinely believe he would still be here today.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had done everything right, but ultimately, he was failed when he needed help the most,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has to be the line in the sand. We have the funding, the buildings and the people to create separate, dedicated emergency spaces for patients experiencing a mental health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof Louise Doyle, head of mental health nursing at Trinity College Dublin, told committee members research shows the environment of an emergency department \u201cis really not the place to be\u201d for those suffering mental health emergencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can sometimes happen is people just get up and leave, and that\u2019s the last thing we want. When they\u2019ve taken the courage \u2013 and courage it takes to present yourself to the ED \u2013 we want to keep them there, and that\u2019s the environment we need to find,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She outlined a 2020 study she co-authored, which involved interviews with 50 people across Ireland who attended an emergency department during a mental health emergency.<\/p>\n

Among participants, long waiting times were \u201calmost universally reported\u201d, she said, which were \u201cextremely distressing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoisy, crowded waiting rooms heightened anxiety and worsened emotional turmoil. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople often waited for hours while feeling vulnerable, ashamed or frightened. Many expressed a desire to leave before being seen, especially those who attended alone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For support: Samaritans on freephone 116 123 or text HELLO to 50808. Pieta Freephone: 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444. Or visit www.yourmentalhealth.ie<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u201crevolving-door nature\u201d of visits to emergency departments by those in mental distress is \u201cforcing our loved ones…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":["post-316534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}