More patients sleeping in chairs at St Luke’s Department of Psychiatry in Kilkenny

The HSE says its conscious of the demand on its acute psychiatric inpatient services in the South East and is working to address it as a priority matter.

It’s after a patient contacted KCLR to say four people were sleeping in armchairs at the St Luke’s Department of Psychiatry in Kilkenny with one or two others on sofas.

In a statement the HSE has apologised to anyone inconvenienced but says that when there’s high demand for admissions in the local Department of Psychiatry that patients are made as comfortable as possible.

It says when over occupancy has happened before that the 44 bed department returns to its operating capacity within a relatively short period of time.