A man with severe mental health issues was held in a Donegal Garda station for 12 hours due to a lack of GP availability, the Dáil has heard.
The shocking incident reportedly took place last week, when gardaí searched for hours to find a GP to assess a man to allow him to be admitted to hospital.
Despite calling 12 GPs in the area, no medics were available to make the assessment and sign the necessary forms.
Independent TD Thomas Pringle raised the case in the Dáil today as an example of a serious gap in Ireland’s mental health support system.
Deputy Pringle said: “This was not only unfair to the man being held, but also to the gardaí, who were unable to do anything else while this man was in their care. They were forced to ring 12 different GPs, but none were available.
“Garda resources are very limited in rural communities and so gardaí are not in a position to be tied up for a whole day trying to find a GP, and it’s completely unacceptable.”
Deputy Pringle said he could not understand why there isn’t a system in place ensuring GPs are contracted to the gardaí to ensure that this service is provided when it is necessary.
The issue was raised during questions on policy or legislation.
Deputy Pringle asked: “Will you ensure that instances like this cannot happen again?”
In his response, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said it was undoubtedly the case that gardaí need to be able to access expert medical help if they are dealing with someone who has severe mental health issues. He said he would ask for contact between his officials and Justice Minister Helen McEntee’s officials to make sure gardaí have all the health care supports they need.
