ED nurse warns of rise in suicidal patients
Staff in A & E departments seeing increase in people in crisis
Last updated 16th May 2018
A nurse on the front line of emergency medicine has warned of a rise in patients with mental health issues.
Roisin Devlin is the lead nurse of the emergency department for the South Eastern Trust.
Speaking to Downtown Cool FM on the penultimate day of the Royal College of Nursing annual congress in Belfast, she said staff are struggling to cope with the amount of patients in distress:
"People in a mental health crisis, we definitely have seen an increase in it.
"With the general pressures that are on in life, people are struggling to cope with more or less everyday things.
"We have seen an increase in numbers and nurses strive to do the very best that they can for those patients.
"Most of them will have a degree of training for those in mental health crisis but they aren't mental health nurses."
The conference sees healthcare workers from across the UK come together, to discuss issues facing the workforce.
5000 delegates are expected to attend from across the UK, over five days.
Roisin told us there are a number of issues on the agenda but one of the biggest challenges facing staff in Northern Ireland is the ability to provide adequate care for mental health patients in A and E:
"The problem is an emergency department is a loud, busy environment, there's a lot going on, it's...chaotic at times.
"If somebody's coming in in a true mental health crisis, that's absolutely not the type of environment for them.
"Nursing staff within Emergency Departments will do everything that they can for the patient but we're limited with the environment that we have.
"Every nurse comes into the profession to do the very best that they can on a daily basis, that's why they do it.
"So to have a group of patients that you feel that you can't do the best for on a daily basis is extremely frustrating."
Roisin backed Downtown Cool FM's calls for suicide prevention facilities in Northern Ireland.
As part of our 'Invest in Life' campaign, we launched a petition calling for crisis centres to be opened across the province.
These would be a safe space for people in distress where they can meet mental health professionals as well as having their physical conditions addressed.
She said there is a high demand for such facilities and told us they would undoubtedly save lives:
"If money was no object we would need a bespoke area that could look after people's physical and mental needs in a calm, quiet environment that would support the person through their mental health crisis and also give them continued support after that."
And the stress and demands of the job is becoming an issue for nurses themselves with sickness levels higher than their targets:
"We need to look after our nursing staff, burnout is very, very high at the moment.
"The one thing that gets the majority of nurses up in the morning is either their nursing teams that they work with or the fact that they want to do everything for their patients.
"People didn't come into the profession to earn thousands of pounds, they came into the profession to actually care for people but actually that can't be sustained forever."
If you or someone you know is in distress or despair, call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 - the 24/7 crisis helpline and counselling service.
Calls are free from all landline and mobiles and is available for people of all ages.