Minister for Mental Health opens new flagship specialist eating disorder facility at Mount Carmel Campus in Dublin
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The Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler T.D. has opened a new state-of-the-art community eating disorder facility in Dublin today.
‘Riverside House’ Community Eating Disorder Services at the Mount Carmel campus in south Dublin will be the new hub for specialist community mental health services for people with eating disorders in the Dublin South and Wicklow health area.
Riverside House is delivered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in partnership with St John of God Mental Health Services.
The launch of Riverside House Community Eating Disorder Services represents a significant step forward in delivering specialised, recovery-focused care, directly aligning with the objectives of our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, and the National Clinical Programme for Eating Disorders.
An investment of €5 million has transformed the building into a state-of-the-art hub, where community eating disorder services for adults, children and adolescents will now be co-located.
The core function of the services is to deliver evidence-based, specialist interventions within a stepped care model, ensuring patients receive the right level of treatment at the right time.
The hub will also provide a new day programme, offering intensive, structured treatment for individuals with severe eating disorders. It functions as a vital "step-up" from routine outpatient care and, crucially, as a "step-down" for those leaving inpatient treatment.
Speaking at the launch, Mary Butler, T.D., Minister for Mental Health, said:
“I’m proud to open Riverside House, a new specialist eating disorder care hub for the people of Dublin South and Wicklow. This state-of-the-art centre has been developed with an investment of €5 million from the capital mental health budget, and it will provide a modern space in the community for children and adults to receive support.
“This is such an important facility, and a flagship for our developing national network of eating disorders services. Riverside brings together community teams, the new intensive day programme, and specialist beds at St. Vincents Hospital.
“I believe the new day programme represents huge progress for our eating disorder services, as it offers a viable and effective alternative to inpatient care.
“This investment reflects my strong commitment to early intervention and expanding access to specialist community services, ensuring people get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
“Since I became Minister, we have grown the clinical programme for eating disorders from one team to 14 now funded, with over 100 dedicated clinicians providing care around the country. Last week, I funded a further two teams, one for adults and one for children, bringing our total investment in clinical staffing for the programme to over €11 million annually.”
The Minister toured the facility and met family members who have already been supported at the hub, as well as team members from both the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and adult service. She was accompanied by Dr. Michelle Clifford, National Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders, Dr. Art Malone, Consultant Psychiatrist, AMHS, Clinical Lead for Adult Eating Disorder, HSE Dublin South and Wicklow and Aisling Heffernan, Integrated Healthcare Area (IHA) Manager for HSE Dublin South and Wicklow.
The new service builds on the success of the ongoing rollout of community-based eating disorder teams nationally, as part of the National Clinical Programme on Eating Disorders, with 14 teams now operational or at an advanced stage of recruitment across the country. As part of Budget 2026, Minister Butler has secured funding for a further two teams.
The HSE recently finalised a report focused on Inpatient Bed Capacity for Adults with Eating Disorders and future eating disorder bed provision. The recommendations of the report are currently being considered by the Department in the development of the forthcoming 10-year capital plan for Mental Health Services. The Minister will prioritise funding for the beds in the mental health allocation of the National Development Plan 2026-2030.
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Riverside House
Key features of the new hub at Riverside House include:
- Specialist Interventions: The facility will host a range of therapies, including specialist individual and group interventions. This co-located model fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach, ensuring seamless and integrated treatment pathways.
- Eating Disorder Day Programme: A cornerstone of the expanded service is the new day programme, which begins this week, 13 October 2025. This provides intensive, structured treatment for individuals with severe eating disorders. It functions as a vital "step-up" from routine outpatient care and, crucially, as a "step-down" for those leaving inpatient treatment. This model directly supports a reduction in the overall bed days required for individual inpatient admissions, promoting recovery in a community setting.
- A lifespan approach (CAMHS to Adult Services): By housing child, adolescent, and adult services together, Riverside House Community Eating Disorder Services is uniquely positioned to manage the critical transition from CAMHS to adult services. This integrated approach helps prevent patients from disengaging from treatment during a traditionally vulnerable period, ensuring continuity of care and improving long-term outcomes.
The facility is equipped with dedicated spaces for individual therapy, family sessions, and group work, all designed to ensure privacy and comfort. It also includes facilities specifically designed to support the new day programme, such as a therapeutic kitchen and dining area, which are essential for delivering evidence-based eating disorder treatments.
By bringing these specialist services into a single, high-quality facility, Riverside House will become a centre of excellence, fostering innovation, training, and research in the field of eating disorders. Riverside House will significantly strengthen community mental health infrastructure, providing complex care outside of a hospital setting and closer to home for the residents of Dublin South and Wicklow.
The service will improve access to timely, specialist assessments and interventions for all patients, ensuring children, adolescents, and adults can receive the dedicated care they need. It will also reduce hospital admissions, as the new day programme will offer a viable and effective alternative to inpatient care, reducing pressure on our acute hospital beds and providing care in a more appropriate, less restrictive environment.
National Clinical Programme on Eating Disorders
The Model of Care for Eating Disorders envisages a national network of 16 teams for CAMHS and adult services, to deliver multi-disciplinary eating disorder services in the community. 14 teams are either operational or at an advanced stage of recruitment, including two new teams funded under Budget 2025 which are expected to become operational by the end of the year (CAMHS Mid-West and an adult team in Dublin Midlands). The HSE has already indicated to the Department of Health that an additional team is also needed in the Dublin area due to demographic pressures. Data on team services and activity can be viewed here.
The current focus for the HSE is on completing and implementing the existing Model of Care and supporting the rollout of all teams. Once this is complete, an evaluation will be undertaken by the HSE to inform the review of the Model of Care.