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	JUST 132 of the 477 new posts promised in mental health services have been filled so far this year, new figures reveal.</h2>
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		Around &euro;35m was allocated to recruit the much-needed staff in areas like suicide prevention this year but the rate of hiring is still behind schedule.</p>
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		It follows last year&#39;s disappointment after another &euro;35m allocated to strengthen mental heatlh teams outside of hospital, and provide more psychological and counselling services, was diverted due to the financial crisis in the HSE.</p>
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		It was planned to hire 414 staff with those funds and of these just 389 are in place. The&nbsp;<a href="http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;">Department of Health</a>&nbsp;said the HSE&#39;s National Recruitment Service (NRS) create national panels in anticipation of vacancies.</p>
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		&quot;On occasion however, it is difficult to fill some posts for various reasons including geographical location, international shortage of some grades, most notably clinical psychologists.</p>
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		&quot;The NRS is currently working to ensure that the remaining posts will be filled as soon as possible, from existing panels or through competition in the absence of panels, at the earliest opportunity.&quot;</p>
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		The delay in appointing staff to psychiatric services comes in the wake of a damning inspector&#39;s report on the Carraig Mor mental health facility in Cork which was likened to something from another century.</p>
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		Meanwhile, in response to the continuing scandal of placing children in adult psychiatric facilities, the department said there are just 39 child and adolescent beds nationally .</p>
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		They include 12 in Dublin, 12 in Cork and 15 in Galway. A further eight beds will be commissioned in Cork, and a further five beds will re-open in Galway by year end.</p>
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		The second phase of the Child and Adolescent Unit at St Vincent&#39;s Hospital, Fairview, will increase capacity from 12 to 18 beds in Dublin by the end of 2013.</p>
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		The Linn Dara child and adolescent mental health facility at Cherry Orchard, Dublin, recently opened and a number teams have moved into the new premises. It is expected that the day hospital will be in operation by the end of the year. It is also proposed to construct a 22-bed in-patient facility on the Cherry Orchard site, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2013/early 2014.</p>
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		In the medium term, by around early 2017, a new 10-bed child and adolescent forensic mental health unit will be provided as part of the new Central Mental Hospital campus development.</p>
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		&quot;The basis of govern-ment policy is that improved community based services, coupled with increased bed capacity for this particular sector, will bring to an end the practice of placing children and adolescents in adult psychiatric facilities,&quot; said the department.</p>
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		<a href="http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/mental-health-services-fall-behind-as-27pc-of-promised-posts-filled-29491213.html">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/mental-health-services-fall-behind-as-27pc-of-promised-posts-filled-29491213.html</a></p>
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