ALMOST a third of all attendees at Donegal’s Sexual Assault Treatment Unit last year were under the age of 18.

The annual report on the service shows 78 individuals sought out the Letterkenny facility in 2020, a 29 per-cent drop on the previous year.

Twenty three of Donegal’s sex assault complainants were children under 18. Seven were men.

The majority of those who attended (53) were aged 25 or under.

Referrals from secondary schools increased slightly by two per-cent compared to 2019 however there was a marked decrease of 15 per-cent from third level colleges.

Last year was a “monumental year” for Donegal’s Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) with the opening of the first purpose built unit in the State.

Staffing however continues to be a problem and is threatening the sustainability of the service in the north west, according to the annual report.

Despite the challenges, the unit managed to maintain 24 hour cover throughout the year with no patients diverted to other areas.

“Staff resources have not been forthcoming in order to enhance the core team within the Donegal SATU,”  says the report.

“The lack of increased staffing over the past five years has necessitated the continuous working of two staff managing the day-to-day operational aspect of the service, the provision of education and training to third level, statutory and non-statutory agencies and sustaining the 24 hour on–call rota with 100 per-cent coverage throughout the year.

“However there were positive developments at the end of 2020 with the approval of an administrator to be employed in early 2021 and the promotion of Connie McGilloway from Clinical Nurse Specialist to Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner.

“Online training and education, meetings and facilitation became the new norm in 2020 and multi-agency collaboration thrived throughout the year.”