Gino Kenny: Highlights Lynne Dara bed closures and staffing shortfall
Gino Kenny warned about the closure of 11 beds at the Lynne Dara site in Sherry Orchard, blaming staffing shortages and calling the situation unacceptable. He criticised the HSE and the Department of Health for failing to foresee the shortfall and demanded answers for parents and young people who use the service.
Bed closures and capacity
The speaker said 11 out of 23 beds at the Lynne Dara site in Sherry Orchard would be closed until September. He also noted the facility normally has 24 beds and includes an attached school staffed by five teachers.
Staffing shortfall and funded posts
He reported that Lynne Dara has 51 funded nursing posts but only 24 staff in place, leaving the unit operating at around 60 to 70% capacity in recent months. Agency staff and multidisciplinary community teams have been used in attempts to fill gaps, but staffing shortages remain the stated reason for the closures.
Impact on patients and waiting list
He said there are four triaged young people awaiting admission to Lynne Dara, with 50% currently in hospital and 50% receiving community supports. He added that, across the country, 11 young people are triaged and waiting for supports.
Calls for accountability and concern
He voiced alarm that a "state-of-the-art" facility cannot retain sufficient staff and questioned why the HSE and the Department of Health did not foresee the shortfall years earlier. He said parents and those who will use the facility deserve answers and described the situation as unacceptable.
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... that 11 out of 23 beds would close till September in relation to the Lynne Dara site in Sherry Orchard. Now we were here five years ago and alarm bells ring when a state-of-the-art facility such as Lynne Dara that provides an absolutely vital service for young people cannot provide staff, saving staff for that facility. Now the question is, if this happened five years ago, why did the HSE, the Department of Health, not foresee this? It is just not acceptable. In 2022, a facility such as Lynne Dara has to close beds. Nobody accepts that, but it has happened. So can somebody answer these questions? Not to me, but most importantly, the parents and people that will use this facility. Thank you very much for the question. I suppose we are all very upset and disappointed that it has come to this stage that 11 beds had to be closed in Lynne Dara. Lynne Dara facility is absolutely fantastic. It is a great facility. It normally has 24 beds and it has a school attached to it with five teachers. I was delighted to visit there last year. The situation is that there are 51 funded posts for nurses in Lynne Dara and currently there are 24 staff in place. So from a patient safety perspective, the facility has been working at between 60 to 70% capacity for the last few months. I have been aware that there have been challenges. Every effort has been made with agency staff trying to bring staff in from multidisciplinary camps teams in the community. Every effort has been made, but unfortunately the issue around staffing is the reason why the beds have been closed. There are currently four triaged young people waiting for admittance to the Lynne Dara facility. 50% of those are in hospital and 50% of those are receiving community supports. Throughout the whole country there are 11 young people triaged waiting for supports. 80% of the folding trains have been called a beautiful political situation in the CDU, 90%, the sudden singleistальных automotions have been able to manage it. employees of current system, TV will have fully finished cutting down the specialhesia rapidly. 60% of these are programs close to 15 waterfalls. 151%. �3% morning call will
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