64% rise in children seeking psychiatric help in Wexford General A&E

Aontu election candidate Jim Codd has voiced his disgust at the HSE for presiding over a 64% increase in children requiring psychiatric help at Wexford General Hospitals A&E. Mr Codd said that this was proof that the HSEs failure to deal with the CAMHS crisis in Wexford was having catastrophic effects.

“It’s been a year since we've had a full time consultant child psychiatrist in Wexford,” Mr Codd said. “According to the Wexford Mental Health Warriors, who cite government figures, we only have 5.5 CAMHS staff for 80,000 people in South Wexford instead of the government recommended 11 staff for every 50,000. It’s no wonder these young people are showing up at the A&E. There’s no where else to go for help.”

“A 64% rise in five years is startling but the shocking thing is that these numbers will continue to rise unless action is taken. A new CAMHS facility is needed in Wexford immediately or else we will not be able to attract child psychiatrists to our area. Real efforts need to be made to solve this crisis now instead of leaving it off to be a general election issue that the government can win votes with.”