Not enough primary care psychologists to cover Cork service

Almost three quarters of all psychology posts in primary care within the South Lee region of Cork are vacant, according to HSE figures.

This has prompted a Cork TD to express concern that young people may be dropping out of school or turning 18 while waiting for an appointment, and are no longer eligible for services.

The HSE provided data on the funded posts for Cork South Lee and the vacancies as of February 2025, as well as details of staff on the waiting list initiative (WLI) team to Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire via parliamentary question.

Vacant

It shows that three out of four child staff-grade psychologist roles are vacant, and all five psychology assistant roles are also vacant, though the HSE spokesperson said that two assistants were at an advanced stage of recruitment.

There is one whole-time equivalent (WTE) for a senior grade staff member, and there is a 0.17 vacancy rate, suggesting the person or people in the role work just four of the five days that funding is provided to cover.

There is one staff grade psychologist for adults funded, and no vacancy, meaning that overall, of 11 funded WTEs, just 2.83 posts are filled and 8.17, or 74%, are vacant.

Mari O’Donovan, interim head of primary care for HSE South West, explained that the WLI staff are not specific to the region but assist with those on the wait list for over a year in Cork and Kerry.

“With regards to the WLI posts, please note that these are not South Lee designated posts but are staffing for Cork Kerry Community Healthcare (CKCH) wide initiatives.

“The South Lee waitlist does benefit when staff are in place as these initiatives intervene with longest waiting/ those waiting over 52 weeks.”

More than half of these posts are also vacant — of seven total WLI staff, 4.5 posts are vacant across both staff and assistant grades — a 64% vacancy rate.

Ongoing

Ms O’Donovan said that recruitment is ongoing.

“We are actively recruiting to fill long-standing psychology vacancies across all areas of Cork and Kerry and a number of posts are at various stages of recruitment, some with commencement dates between January to March 2025.”

Mr Ó Laoghaire told The Echo that the service must be struggling to function with so few staff.

“The situation in primary care for children and young people is clearly unsustainable,” said Mr Ó Laoghaire.

“Three of four staff missing is undoubtedly going to be reflected in very long waiting times, and I would imagine many children are ageing out before they are seen.”

High vacancy rate 

He said the service is meant to help treat people who seek help early, before their mental condition deteriorates, but that the high vacancy rate is a barrier to this.

“There’s always a lot of attention focusing on Camhs, but the threshold to get into Camhs is very high,” he said.

“Primary care carries an awful lot of responsibility in making sure young people in our community are looked after in terms of anxiety, suicidal ideation, low mood, behavioural difficulties, ADHD, and ASD queries. But these figures show that the chance of early intervention is very, very low.”

Major effort needed 

He called for the ministers for health and mental health to take the issue seriously, saying: “A major effort needs to go into recruitment, because if you don’t have a functional primary care service, people’s needs end up escalating to a point where they need Camhs.

“These young people might need assistance in education, psychological support to cope with the pressures of school, and if they are waiting too long, they might end up dropping out or practising school avoidance, which can cause massive issues for their future.”