Inspection found children left ‘very hungry’ at Cork mental health facility

A lack of access to food left residents at a Cork in-patient mental health centre for children and adolescents “very hungry” , a report has found.

An inspection of the Eist Linn centre in Bessborough by the Mental Health Commission found service capacity had been reduced due to significant staffing shortages across multiple disciplines.

To mitigate the risks, operational bed capacity was cut from 16 to 10 beds, and out-of-hours admissions were suspended.

The report found there were 10 vacant nursing posts, with the service relying on agency staff and overtime to maintain adequate staffing levels.

One of two social worker posts had been vacant since December 2024, while both consultant psychiatrist posts had been unfilled since November 2025 and January 2026. A part-time pharmacist position had been vacant since January 2024.

While approval had been granted to recruit for the roles, and some appointments were at an advanced stage, management reported significant delays in progressing candidates through the final stages of the recruitment process.

Restrictions on food

Residents interviewed as part of the inspection said that they had enough to occupy themselves with during the day, and that activities offered were good. However, they reported a lack of variety in the food choices available.

Residents reported that they sometimes felt “very hungry” during the day due to heavy restrictions on food, and said they wanted greater flexibility around the provision of snacks.

Overall, the centre was found to have one critical non-compliance, four high-risk non-compliances, and one moderate non-compliance.

This compares with four moderate and two high-risk non-compliances identified during the 2025 inspection.

Found non-compliant

The critical non-compliance related to the ‘Code of Practice on Admission, Transfer, and Discharge’, an area in which the centre has been found non-compliant at every annual inspection since 2023.

The report also detailed how inspectors reviewed the clinical file of one young person admitted to the centre and found it had not been clinically determined that the patient required immediate in-patient mental health care. 

They also found the decision to admit the young person had not been made solely by a registered medical practitioner or consultant psychiatrist, as required.

As the process for emergency admission to the approved centre was not followed, it was not determined if the young person was admitted to the approved centre most appropriate to meet their needs.

The HSE, which manages the centre, said the admissions policy has been revised to clarify admission criteria, decision making responsibilities, escalation pathways, and governance requirements.

The revised policy will be circulated to all relevant clinical and management staff.

The Echo contacted the HSE for comment.