Minister for Mental Health announces recruitment of six new Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse teams for primary care
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 27 March 2026
- Last updated on: 27 March 2026
Minister for Mental Health, Mary Butler TD, today announced that the Health Service Executive (HSE) is commencing recruitment of six new Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) teams for primary care settings. The initiative, funded under Budget 2026, forms part of a major expansion of national suicide prevention and crisis response services.
This development follows Minister Butler’s confirmation that an unprecedented 300 additional mental health staff will be recruited in 2026, accounting for 9% of the overall health service workforce growth next year (3,300 posts). Mental health funding will reach a record €1.6 billion in 2026, marking the sixth consecutive annual increase and a 50% rise since 2020.
Within this record allocation, €15 million in additional funding has been secured specifically for crisis supports and suicide prevention. This investment will enable a significant expansion of services, including the establishment of six new SCAN teams.
Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurses (SCAN) are a critical safety‑net for people in suicidal crisis. SCAN nurses provide rapid, specialist assessment in primary care settings for people in suicidal distress who present to their GP.
Each SCAN team is made up of two senior mental health nurses at Clinical Nurse Specialist grade under the clinical governance of the National Clinical Programme for Self-harm and Suicide-related Ideation.
Minister Butler said:
“The expansion of the Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse service with six new teams is a priority initiative under Budget 2026, bringing the total number of teams to 21 across 18 counties. These new teams will strengthen community‑based crisis supports, improve access to specialist assessment, and provide faster, more coordinated care for individuals in suicidal crisis.”
Minister Butler added:
“I am deeply committed to ensuring people in mental health crisis can access the supports that they need, in an appropriate location closer to their home, to support our work in continuing to reduce suicide. I’m very pleased to see progress being made on the recruitment of posts for this important programme, so that new Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurses can begin their lifesaving work.”
Minister Butler has announced the 5 new SCAN teams for adult services will be located in:
- Kerry
- Limerick
- Galway
- Kildare
- Dublin South City
A new SCAN team for children and young people is also being recruited for Linn Dara Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services which serves young people in West Dublin, Kildare, and West Wicklow.
Minister Butler concluded:
“We will continue the investment in the SCAN service in future estimates processes to ensure we achieve full national coverage for the service for both adults and children and young people. The SCAN service is a critical component of our reform programme to move crisis responses into community settings, away from busy acute environments.”
Notes
Background on the Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) Service
- The Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) service is critically important safety net for people in suicidal crisis. The second Sharing the Vision implementation plan commits to expanding these services to provide full national coverage.
- These services provide a timely response to requests for assessment of patients in suicidal crisis from GPs, and the assessments often take place in primary care settings.
- The SCAN service was originally developed under the National Clinical Programme for Self-harm and Suicide-related Ideation (NCPSHI) which was introduced in Irish public hospital emergency departments in 2014.
- Primarily delivered by clinical nurse specialists with support from a consultant psychiatrist in each hospital area, the programme supports people presenting with suicidal ideation as well as self-harm.
- The model of care for the service envisages a dedicated mental health assessment room within hospitals to provide a more appropriate environment for assessments to take place. Even when the full network of alternative Crisis Resolution Services is in place, we know people in distress will still present to emergency departments for support.
- Given most acute mental health in-patient units are co-located with our acute hospital network, it’s important people in distress are assessed in clinically appropriate environments when they present for support.