\u201cI wish I wasn\u2019t here,\u201d Mr Loughnane told members as he opened his presentation. \u201cI wish instead that I was reading some long, whimsical text from Adam, sent into the family group chat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 67-page report, forming the basis of a campaign called Adam\u2019s Protocols, outlines the days and hours leading up to Adam\u2019s death. It also includes current hospital data, financial information on mental-health provision, international comparisons, campaign objectives, and details of the HSE external review into Adam\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
Adam\u2019s Protocols, he said, reflect more than a decade of public demand for improved mental-health supports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were consistent calls across all stakeholder groups \u2013 people with lived experience, HSE staff, NGOs, advocates and professionals \u2013 that Emergency Departments are not appropriate settings for those in a mental-health crisis, and that Mental Health A&Es and 24\/7 Crisis Care Centres are essential,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t the first time families have braved the seats of the committee to share how services failed their loved one, Mr Loughnane told the Irish Independent. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe actual thing we’re proposing, this idea of a dedicated space for people in a mental health crisis, is not new and has been proposed previously in Ireland by other campaign groups and by families bereaved by suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/04da7f79-214f-4846-be72-1eab726c07d5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The late Adam Loughnane.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Mr Loughnane argued that those in acute distress require environments designed to minimise triggering, chaotic or traumatising experiences, not general A&E units already under severe pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur campaign has pointed out that Adam\u2019s death was not the fault of any one staff member; the system failed him,\u201d he said. \u201cThe medical professionals who tried to help Adam are overworked, underpaid and understaffed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the committee, he described several \u201cerrors\u201d in Adam\u2019s care on the night he attended A&E, which he was advised to go to by clerical staff.<\/p>\n
Triage waiting times were 50\u201360 minutes, and more than 100 patients were in the department when Adam, categorised as \u201cCategory 2 \u2013 very urgent\u201d, was asked to wait in the general area.<\/p>\n
Staffing shortages meant the Psychiatry Liaison Team, responsible for managing suicidal presentations across departments, was not available. Additionally, Adam\u2019s departure from the department was not formally recorded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam\u2019s absence from the ED remained undiscovered and only became apparent when had been brought back to the ED by ambulance,\u201d Mr Loughnane said. \u201cThe nursing staff tried, unsuccessfully, to enter his details on their registration system and found the information already logged.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/d8f184b7-1ec7-4308-8490-24e56402a6a2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Joe Loughnane with a photo of his late brother Adam.<\/p>\n
Galway East TD Albert Dolan expressed support for the campaign\u2019s financial proposal, which estimates that only \u20ac120 million would be required to establish a designated mental-health A&E in every county.<\/p>\n
Committee members asked few questions, with the Cathaoirleach saying there was \u201cfundamental agreement\u201d on the need for reform and a destigmatisation of mental health.<\/p>\n
Also addressing the committee was Professor Louise Doyle, head of mental-health nursing at Trinity College Dublin, who has spent two decades researching suicide, self-harm, and crisis-care experiences.<\/p>\n
Her early research found that patients presenting with acute psychological distress often endured long, distressing waits in noisy, crowded environments. \u201cMany expressed a desire to leave before being seen, especially those who attended alone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She noted that privacy concerns, negative staff interactions and unclear post-discharge supports further underscored the need for specialist, co-located mental-health emergency units.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe emergency department will always form part of the mental-health crisis landscape,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it should not be the only door. And, crucially, when people do walk through that door, the experience must be safe, compassionate and responsive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, for many, the healthcare responses in the emergency department were suboptimal.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8bf76c3a-d8cd-488b-bdea-31dd3a033471.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
At a demonstration in Feburary 20025, the crowd gathered in front of UHG before making their way towards the canal, which was Adam\u2019s last walk.<\/p>\n
\u201cCo-location is the best scenario because there is almost always going to be a requirement for a medical assessment, medical triage, first but it is then a quick follow-up into a mental health specialist unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Sinn F\u00e9in brought a motion before the D\u00e1il \u00c9ireann calling for dedicated mental-health emergency rooms, 24\/7 specialist psychiatric care, and properly funded community-based supports. The motion passed, with calls for clear implementation timelines.<\/p>\n
As Mr Loughnane\u2019s hearing concluded, sitting Cathaoirleach Dublin Fingal West TD Louise O\u2019Reilly said the committee would write to the Health Minister seeking answers to the outstanding questions.<\/p>\n
In response, he told the Irish Independent: \u201cWe’ve already had stock responses back from the HSE and from the ministers about the range of services that are currently available for people who are in suicidal distress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t want it to be them going back saying we have these other services in place already and hopefully in the future we can get around to what you’re proposing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt needs to be done now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Loughnane, brother of the late Adam Loughnane, asked the Public Petitions Committee to implement \u2018Adam\u2019s Protocol\u2019 Joe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[178496,134,554,555,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-332554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-emma-smith","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}