![\"Wexford](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2a46e789-1754-4f32-a5ce-e8809b70291d.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe 15 year-old girl\u2019s mother was forced to discharge her from hospital after a month of waiting\n<\/p>\n
Anna (not her real name) was admitted to Wexford General Hospital on March 16 after attempting to end her life. The teen has battled with her mental health for a few years now and has been a patient of CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) in Wexford since 2024.<\/p>\n
Her mother claims CAMHS are unwilling to see her daughter until she is discharged from Wexford General Hospital. However, the family have been told that the hospital has no access to a child psychiatrist and management have spent the past four weeks trying to organise a video consultation with an \u201con-call child psychiatrist\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re completely stuck in limbo,\u201d the girl\u2019s mother said. \u201cShe\u2019s weeks waiting there and we still don\u2019t know when the appointment will happen. Hospital staff say that they\u2019ve emailed and are working on it. It seems they have to get permission from the HSE to get access to an on-call child psychiatrist online.\u201d<\/p>\n
All the while, Anna\u2019s mental state was \u201cdeteriorating\u201d as she spent weeks on the children\u2019s ward, with 24\/7 supervision from a carer.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s okay,\u201d her mother said. \u201cShe\u2019s really looking forward to getting out and getting back into therapy and trying things to actively get better. She has no access to her usual intervention and no access to her friends etc. She\u2019s isolated in hospital and that\u2019s not going to be positive for anyone\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s not like a normal hospital stay either. She needs myself or a carer with her at all times. She can\u2019t go down and grab a cup of coffee by herself or go out for a walk around and a bit of fresh air. I understand that safety has to be the priority, but it\u2019s very tough on her mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is being kept physically safe and there\u2019s no way she can hurt herself, but her mental state is deteriorating.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve asked about transferring her to a different hospital where they have access to a child psychiatrist, but they won\u2019t do that. I\u2019m at the point where I\u2019m considering discharging her and presenting with her at another hospital. I just don\u2019t know what else to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday evening, after a month of waiting, Anna\u2019s mam took the difficult decision to discharge her from the care of Wexford General Hospital. She was due to take up an appointment with CAMHS the following day.<\/p>\n
Anna is not alone in her experience. Her mam says that there are at least two other children on a ward at Wexford General in the same situation, stuck in limbo awaiting a child psychiatrist.<\/p>\n
“The state of CAMHS needs to be called out,\u201d Anna\u2019s mam says. \u201cThe failure is not at the hands of the hospital staff or the CAMHS staff. This is a result of underfunding and a lack of priority for mental health on the Government’s part.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2023, the Mental Health Reform Commission’s report into CAMHS explicitly called out Wexford General Hospital’s practice of using an on-call mechanism for securing child psychiatric assessments. In the same report, the MHRC recommended that each CAMHS area should have a liaison psychiatrist to work with acute presentations to a Hospital. This is still not happenning in Wexford General in 2026.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re just at our wits end at the moment, hoping each day that something will materialise to help our young person get the care and support she needs and deserves. I just don\u2019t know what to do next. It\u2019s just a mess of a situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wexford General Hospital.<\/p>\n
Labour TD for Wexford George Lawlor was appalled, but not surprised, when he was contacted by the family about the situation.<\/p>\n
“This is an appalling situation for any child or family to find themselves in,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was a cry for help from this young lady and she\u2019s now been left languishing in Wexford General for weeks on end. It\u2019s not appropriate.<\/p>\n
“It is, however, completely indicative of the absolute and total disfuction of the CAMHS system in Ireland.<\/p>\n
“What\u2019s also galling is that this child, and other children, have 24\/7 agency healthcare assistants appointed to them for their own safety while they are in hospital. I\u2019ve sought the figure for how much Wexford General is spending on agency fees and have yet to receive an an answer. But we talk about not being able to get a child psychiatrist etc and no doubt at the same time we\u2019re paying millions in agency fees for people to look after these children on the wards.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s beyond belief and it smacks of disfuction and mismanagement, with CAMHS in particular. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve seen so many times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deputy Lawlor says he is hoping to have a face-to-face meeting with Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler in the coming week to discuss this case and others like it.<\/p>\n
“It needs rapid intervention,\u201d he said. \u201cIt comes down to common sense and a basic resepct for these children and their families. It\u2019s an appalling situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
On a visit to the hospital back in February, T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris stated he was aware of \u201ca particular issue\u201d with CAMHS services for inpatient children at Wexford General and he stated his intention to discuss the matter with Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler as part of a wider conversation on mental health service provision in the region.<\/p>\n
While any definitive resolution may be some way off, Anna\u2019s situation is yet more evidence of major flaws in our mental health system.<\/p>\n
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the HSE replied: \u201cThe HSE, whilst not publicly discussing individual circumstances advises that we are aware of the matter highlighted and are working towards a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, this response came after Anna had been discharged from the care of Wexford General Hospital by her mother.<\/p>\n