Editorials

The Irish Times view on the north Kerry Camhs report: a vital lack of clinical resouces

Many of the failings can be linked back, at least in part , to a lack of consultant psychiatrists

A lack of consultant psychiatrists was in key problem in the North Kerry Camhs. ( Photo: agency stock)
A lack of consultant psychiatrists was in key problem in the North Kerry Camhs. ( Photo: agency stock)
Sun Feb 22 2026 - 20:21 • 2 MIN READ

One of the many questions arising out of the independent review of the north Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Heath Services (Camhs) is why it appears all but impossible to hire consultant psychiatrists.

Many of the failings identified in the report can be linked back, at least in part , to a lack of the clinical oversight that should be provided by consultant psychiatrists. This is particularly relevant in regard to the overly high rates of drug prescription. Resources were inadequate.

According to the review, there has been no permanent consultant psychiatrist in the Kerry South Camhs since 2016. The only consultant in the county – who worked in Kerry North – was expected to cover the whole county and supervise the work of non-consultant doctors providing psychiatric services. This continued until September 2020, when a locum consultant was appointed.

The national youth mental health lead for the HSE confirmed to RTÉ that there is still no full-time consultant psychiatrist for the county, which should have a compliment of four consultants. The gap is being met by “input” from consultants from other regions, according to the HSE.

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The situation is far from satisfactory. But not entirely surprising. In 2021 the National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) unit of the HSE calculated that 630 additional consultant psychiatrists would be required over the following 10 years, requiring a big increase in the numbers in training.

The shortage of psychiatrists is a worldwide problem with medical graduates preferring less taxing and better remunerated specialisms. Something of a vicious circle has now set in. Fewer consultants qualifying means less supervision for trainee psychiatrists resulting in increased burnout . This leads to even fewer doctors opting to train as psychiatrists and a clinical focus on medication rather than time-consuming therapy.

What happened in Kerry can be viewed as the outworking of this decades long trend. Reversing it should be a key part of any considered Government respond to the Kerry Camhs debacle.