Galway Bay fm newsroom - There are calls for the urgent re-establishment of a mental health critical care team in the city after the service was allegedly discontinued without consultation.
Tuam area councillor Donagh Killilea told a meeting of the Regional Health Forum the service was put in place in June as part of a pilot scheme which was already a success in Roscommon.
As part of the service, a person deemed to be in severe difficulty with mental health was seen by a member of the critical care team in a very short timeframe.
He said the crisis team was wound down in December with two days notice and also claimed GPs, A&E staff and student union offices were not informed and only discovered through a message on the crisis team phoneline.
Saolta officials stated the HSE has reconfigured existing crisis response positions embedding them in local community teams, so that emergency assessments take place nearer to the patient's home.
Councillor Kililea told the forum the critical care team trial has proved a huge success in Roscommon.
He called on officials to further clarify why it was wound down in Galway without due consultation with GPs and whether the service will be revisited.
