Rose Conway-Walsh demands urgent beds for eating disorder patients
Rose Conway-Walsh addressed eating disorders, urging urgent action to secure inpatient treatment beds and private access for those unable to wait. She recounted seeking help for a constituent with a BMI of 14.8 who needs an admission that is currently unavailable.
Main demand
Rose Conway-Walsh called for the immediate provision of treatment beds for people with eating disorders, saying promised capacity has not materialised and current arrangements are insufficient.
Individual cases and costs
She described the case of a constituent with a BMI of 14.8 who weighs about 39.9 kilos and has been seeking help for six to eight months. She noted the cost of a private admission to Lois Bridges would be $77,200 and said it is unacceptable that those without money or health insurance are excluded from vital care.
Beds and government response
Conway-Walsh referenced the promised 23 beds and criticised comments attributed to Minister Butler that suggested those beds were not needed. She argued that the absence of beds is a real barrier to treatment and must be addressed urgently.
Concerns about community care
She challenged the idea that community teams alone can substitute for specialist inpatient care, warning that psychiatrists without eating-disorder expertise cannot deliver the specialised treatment provided by centres like Lois Bridges.
Consequences and urgency
Citing testimony presented at Care Ireland, including Paula Crotty’s account of her daughter’s death and a speaker named Ciara describing severe physical and mental harm, Conway-Walsh stressed the issue is life and death and demanded swift action to secure beds and access to treatment.
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Garmada and Minister, I want to congratulate you on your new role. Indeed, both ministers, Minister René O'Connor as well, and I wish you well. We all want you to succeed, and we all need you to succeed in the area of health. I want to concentrate my contribution this evening on eating disorders. And some of you might have been in today when Care Ireland presented in the AV room today. And the reason I went in there was I am desperately seeking help for a constituent whose BMI is at 14.8. 14.8, and she weighs 30, 39.9 kilos, as it is. I have been looking for help for the last six, eight months for this constituent. I know she is only one person, but every door has been shut in my face. Obviously, she needs a bed for treatment. We don't have the 23 beds that were promised. It really concerns me that Minister Butler says we don't need those beds. We absolutely need those beds. But in the meantime, we have to facilitate people who are in such bad health. We have to facilitate them to get private help. It will cost $77,200 to have an admission to Lois Bridges. They can treat her there. It is not fair that somebody who doesn't have the money and doesn't have health insurance is excluded from vital treatment that's needed. This is a matter of life and death. A woman spoke inside today, Paula Crotty, about her own daughter who had died. The way that she was treated and the lengths she went to try and to help her daughter to stay alive would make the hair stand on your head. And then to have been told by a government minister's advisor that you're lucky to have what you have. The way these families and these individuals are being treated is absolutely grotesque. It is not right to say that they can be treated in the community. And I think, as was said inside today, that's eclipsing the lack of beds to say where the community teams are in place. And psychiatrists who don't have an expertise in eating disorders cannot deliver the care that's needed, that can be delivered in the treatment centres that are there, like Lois Bridges. So something has to be done, but something has to be really urgently done. Ciara spoke inside today about the mental torment that has led to her physical destruction that may ruin her. We talked about natal care earlier on that may destroy her choice of ever having to have her own child. This is how serious it is. We are failing these people. If there's one thing I'd ask you to do is to please sort out that we can have treatment beds to be able to treat people with eating disorders. Thank you.
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