Fine Gael Kildare South TD Martin Heydon has said that an allocation of €300,000 in the HSE service plan will allow recruitment to begin on a new liaison team for mental health services in Kildare.  The HSE service plan for 2017 was published this week.

“This funding confirmation is very welcome news for mental health services in Kildare and will allow recruitment to begin for a full liaison team to be based at Naas Hospital. This will greatly assist where somebody presents at A&E or another healthcare facility with mental health issues. The liaison team will be well placed to deal with people as they present and be best placed to direct them to the service they require in a timely manner.

“This funding is in addition to capital funding of €5.5m which will allow for an extension and improvement of the facilities at the Lakeview unit.  The staff at lakeview have been operating at capacity for some time and I am glad this has been recognised by Minister with responsibility for Mental Health Helen McEntee who I continue to work closely with to improve mental health services in Kildare.

“I have consistently raised the need for investment in Kildare mental health services in the Dail and the historic underfunding at a time when our population has increased dramatically.  I look forward to continuing to work with management and staff at Naas to improve the provision and availability of mental health support services throughout Kildare.”