As a psychiatric nurse I find Dr Anthony McCarthy’s statement not only wrong and horrifying but insulting to all those who are providing treatment for suicidal people every day. Of course there is treatment for suicidal ideation. (Examiner) >
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Psychiatrists are being asked to be judges in assessing suicide risk, abortion hearings told
Consultant perinatal psychiatrist Dr John Sheehan told TDs and Senators that “psychiatrists are doctors not judges”. He said that under section 4 of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill, “psychiatrists are being asked to determine if there is a real and…
Tagged with: Abortion, Psychiatry, Suicide
Posted in Bernie McCabe (psych), Doctors, Jacqueline Montwill (psych), John Sheehan (psych), Medicolegal, Seán O’Domhnaill (pych)
Posted in Bernie McCabe (psych), Doctors, Jacqueline Montwill (psych), John Sheehan (psych), Medicolegal, Seán O’Domhnaill (pych)
Involuntary admission procedures for psychiatric hospitals poorly understood
On May 1st, Pat Kenny interviewed Minister for Health James Reilly on RTÉ Radio 1 about the abortion legislation currently going through the Oireachtas. Kenny asked the Minister about a hypothetical scenario in which a woman requested a termination on the grounds of suicide risk,…
Scientists close to bipolar disorder breakthrough
A new study into bipolar disorder suggests scientists may be on the verge of identifying the mechanisms that lead to its onset. Research carried out by Prof Nick Craddock and Prof Pamela Sklar of the Institute of Psychological Medicines and…
‘Zero tolerance’ with drug-using patients at Mater
Dr Patricia Casey said drug dealing is “a very regular problem” in the hospital, that has lead to increased security on the psychiatric ward. Her comments come after patients at psychiatric units at Mayo General and the Mid Western Regional…
Patricia Casey replies to Peadar O’Grady
Dr Peadar O’Grady (May 3rd) has regrettably resorted to misinformed stereotyping in his response to Breda O’Brien’s column (Opinion, April 27th). He states the study she cites in respect of the mental health effects of abortion was published in a…
Tagged with: Abortion, Mental health, Psychiatry
Posted in Patricia Casey (psych), Peadar O'Grady (psych)
Posted in Patricia Casey (psych), Peadar O'Grady (psych)
New capacity law to replace outdated legislation which labels disabled as ‘lunatics’
The current law governing mental capacity for vulnerable adults in Ireland is based on the Regulation of Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1871. This provides for a ward-of-court system, under which the court makes all key decisions over a person’s life. The…
How I survived my dark night of the soul
When I was discharged, I had a couple of outpatient appointments. There was no explanation of my diagnosis, which was given to me at the end of one of these appointments. Neither was there any discussion of early warning symptoms…
After 25 years, has Prozac outlived its usefulness?
It is the most widely used anti-depressant in history, has entered into our cultural lexicon and was perhaps the only pharmaceutical to ever become “trendy”. But on the 25th anniversary of the introduction of Prozac, the “happy pill” remains controversial. It…
Alzheimer’s drug trial begins this week
An Irish medical researcher, Prof Brian Lawlor, is co-ordinating the international trial, Nilvad (nilvadipine in Alzheimer’s disease), which involves nine countries and has funding worth €6 million provided by the European Community’s seventh framework programme research budget. The drug, nilvadipine,…
Psychiatrists say they don’t want to take part in assessment panels
A GROUP of almost 70 psychiatrists will this morning tell TDs and senators they are “deeply concerned” at the Government’s plan to legislate for abortion where there is a threat of suicide. The statement originated from a letter to colleagues…
Tagged with: Abortion, Psychiatry
Posted in Bernie McCabe (psych), Jacqueline Montwill (psych), Martin Mahon, Richelle Kirrane (psych)
Posted in Bernie McCabe (psych), Jacqueline Montwill (psych), Martin Mahon, Richelle Kirrane (psych)
Daniel Herlihy on who medics will treat
Answering his question why stress and anxiety should fall into the remit of “medicalia” as opposed to other “therapeutic/counselling” options, Mr Cosgrove suggests that the answer may relate to the “vested interests, professional-patch empowerments”, a desire to protect the “status-quo” as well…
Mentally ill teenager left on A&E trolley for three days
A series of damning reports from the Mental Health Commission has revealed some of these psychiatric units for young people have waiting lists of up to six months. The plight of the teenager at Waterford Regional Hospital was revealed during…
Fintan O’Toole: Time for State to acknowledge great wrong of Irish mental hospital system
‘All the shame of the era is being dumped on the religious orders.’ These words, from a nun involved in managing a Magdalene laundry, broadcast on RTÉ radio’s God Slot, are self-serving and morally evasive. But they’re not entirely wrong. The probability is…
Psych nurses ‘turn off goodwill’ tap in pay cuts protest
Psychiatric nurses have become the latest frontline public sector workers to “turn off the goodwill” tap in protest at the measures proposed under Croke Park II. From Mar 19, the 7,000 members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association will: * Refuse…
Goodbye Grangegorman
The story of St Brendan’s, Ireland’s first public psychiatric hospital, reflects much of our troubled history. The buildings and its records are a dusty time capsule, providing a disturbing insight into how society used the institution to dump social problems…
At least 2,500 people affected by dementia in Belfast, says report
With the population ageing there is a pressing case for new treatments to stop the brain’s decline, Alzheimer’s Research UK said. Scientists in Belfast will hold a free public meeting on dementia research to coincide with the start of the…
Psychiatric patients moving to €22m facility
THE centuries-old wards of St Brendan’s Psychiatric Hospital in Dublin will finally fall silent next month as the institution closes its doors. The remaining 30 patients will leave the dilapidated building – once home to over 2,500 patients – for…
The missing link to mental health services
The Phoenix Care Centre on Dublin’s North Circular Road formally opens its doors on Thursday, replacing the antiquated St Brendan’s Hospital in Grangegorman which has operated for the past 199 years. “There were times when we never thought we’d see…
HSE warned against moving ‘distressed’ patients from home
A CLINICAL report has warned against moving patients from a HSE mental health facility that is set to close. The confidential report written by a consultant psychiatrist said it was not feasible to move patients at Toghermore House in Tuam,…
Tenth of teenagers suffering from mental health disorder, says HSE
CHILD and psychiatric services are facing a growing demand for specialist care for young people, one in 10 of whom suffers from a mental health disorder. The report said there were 432 children and adolescents admitted to hospitals for different…
Serious concern over mentally ill child admitted to adult unit in Cork
“The lack of provision of a place in the local child and adolescent in-patient unit for a seriously ill, vulnerable child currently a resident in St Michael’s unit was unacceptable,” a report by the Inspector of Mental Health Services states,…
‘Appalling’ lack of care at mental hospital
Mental health inspectors have expressed extreme concern for the welfare of residents at a facility who have been deprived of essential therapies and are showing signs of severe institutionalised behaviour. Inspectors from the Mental Health Commission found there was an…
Murder accused was not bipolar, says forensic psychiatrist
Under cross-examination by Fergal Kavanagh SC, defending, Dr Stephen Monks, who was requested by the Director of Public Prosecutions to examine and carry out a full psychiatric assessment of Michael McDonald, said he would “strongly disagree” that he suffered from…
Open verdict recorded on death of woman pregnant with twin boys
Master of the Rotunda Dr Sam Coulter-Smith, who did not treat Mrs Byrne personally, said while Mrs Byrne’s history of depression was recorded in the obstetric notes of her previous pregnancies at the Rotunda, it was not for her current…
Tagged with: Depression, Obstetrics, Psychiatry, Suicide
Posted in John Sheehan (psych), Patients, Sam Coulter-Smith (obstetrician)
Posted in John Sheehan (psych), Patients, Sam Coulter-Smith (obstetrician)
Mental illness – smashing the stigma
“While I was in the hospital getting well again, I met a number of people who didn’t have a single visitor during those long weeks. One lady confided that she had told her children she was away on holiday. Another…
Psych patients sleep in activity room due to overcrowding
Overcrowding at an acute psychiatric unit is forcing staff to locate patients in an activities therapy room during the night. The Inspectorate of Mental Health Services has found the HSE to be in breach of mental health regulations in relation…
Psychiatric patients not as closely monitored as before, says top nurse
Modern psychiatric care methods have resulted in patients not being as closely observed as they were in the past, it has emerged. “If we want to endorse a policy which says that we nurse patients in the least restrictive and…
End of an era for St Finan’s Hospital
Cormac Williams of the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association yesterday said the closure of the old building was long overdue. “The most regrettable aspect of the closure was the final demise of the Victorian hospital was caused by cutbacks, retirements, and the…
