Acute Psychiatric Care Provision for Children and Adolescents in Ireland

Congratulations to UCD Medicine student (GEM 2) and 2025 SSRA participant, Saoirse McDonald, on contributing to a recently published paper in IMJ, as part of her SSRA project.

The collaborative paper is titled ‘Acute Psychiatric Care Provision for Children and Adolescents in Ireland’ and also included the following authors from UCD School of Medicine - Adjunct Research Fellow Dr Kate Keenan, Clinical Associate Professor Farhana Sharif, Éamon Jones (UCD Medicine GEM 3 student), Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe and Associate Professor Elizabeth Barrett.

Saoirse stated, ‘‘It was a privilege to collaborate on this work, and to be given the opportunity last summer to contribute to related research examining mental health admissions to acute paediatric wards in Ireland as part of my SSRA with UCD School Of Medicine.

Rising mental health admissions to acute paediatric wards reflect both a changing burden of paediatric mental illness and longstanding gaps in acute psychiatric provision in Ireland. More than 20 years after A Vision for Change (2006), only 3 of 18 acute paediatric units across Ireland have access to dedicated child and adolescent liaison psychiatry teams.

This reflects a growing disconnect between the increasing complexity and volume of paediatric mental health presentations and the capacity of existing services to respond, underscoring the need for strengthened liaison psychiatry provision, enhanced training, and improved national data to inform future service planning.

I’m very grateful to everyone involved in this work and for the opportunity to contribute to an important conversation that may help inform future improvements in acute paediatric mental health care in Ireland.’’

Access the full paper online (opens in a new window)here.