University Hospital Galway will be getting a specialist mental health nursing team for its Emergency Department.
The HSE has begun recruiting for teams for ten hospitals across the country, with the aim to have them up and running as soon as possible.
The posts are being created through funding of €15m which had been secured in Budget 2026 for crisis supports and targeted suicide prevention measures.
The teams are being introduced in response to evidence that many self-harm and suicidal presentations happen in the evening and overnight hours, when additional specialist support is needed.
Local calls for better mental health supports at emergency departments have ramped up in the past year, after a man died by suicide following a visit to UHG's ED.
Adam Loughnane died in February 2025, and since then his brother, Joe, has been calling for the establishment of dedicated Mental Health A&E's.
The new teams may be seen as a step in the right direction, and the HSE says recruitment and planning is underway to introduce them as quickly as possible
The teams of four will include Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists, who will provide specialist support to people presenting to EDs in mental health crisis. ]
