The HSE has appointed a replacement locum Psychiatrist for the South West sector and has been recruited to the Donegal Mental Health Service.
The appointment comes following the departure of the Consultant Psychiatrist who formally held the post.
Deputy Pearse Doherty, who last month raised the vacancy with the Minister for Health, has now been informed by the HSE that the Locum will take up the role this week.
Deputy Doherty has welcomed the move.
“Following concerns from constituents throughout the south of the county surrounding the departure of the Consultant Psychiatrist who previously held the post, I immediately raised the issue with the Minister for Health in the Dáil where I stressed the importance of ensuring that psychiatric services here would not be interrupted for service users.
“The Minister subsequently asked the HSE to provide me with an update in relation to the vacancy and the measures which were being taken to ensure that complex cases or patients requiring urgent treatment were not left at a disadvantage while a suitable replacement was identified.
“I am happy to now have received clarification from the HSE confirming that the position was filled by a Locum yesterday, October 3rd.
“The Consultant who had previously delivered the service left the temporary post on September 4th, and for this four week period service users were referred to Non Consultant Hospital Doctors and multidisciplinary care teams for treatment, while complex cases were seen by a Consultant Psychiatrist who had been on call.
“This announcement of course comes as a huge relief to all service users in South Donegal who depend so much on our Mental Health Services which are all too often stretched to its limits due to insufficient resources and lack of investment.
“Naturally, it is now important that every effort is made by the authorities to ensure that a permanent Consultant will be recruited to the service in the not too distant future, and I will continue to highlight the need for this appointment to the Donegal Mental Health Service for the benefit of all services users here.”