Mental health directorate plan welcomed

The campaign group Mental Health Reform has welcomed the decision by Minister for Health James Reilly to proceed with the establishment of a new structure for the HSE, which will include a new directorate of mental health.

Under the heads of a Bill approved by the Cabinet yesterday, the board of the HSE will be abolished and a new directorate system for running the health service will be established.

The reconfigured structure will see the establishment of a directorate for mental health services for the first time.

Mental Health Reform's director Orla Barry said there was “an urgent need” for a director to oversee the implementation of the Government's plans to modernise psychiatric services.

“The new director for mental health is crucial in order to oversee the €35 million committed to in Budget 2012 for community-based mental health services, and also to ensure that the staff promised in the HSE’s 2012 service plan are put in place by the end of the year,” Ms Barry said.

“A director will bring much-needed dedicated national leadership, to ensure that the budget for mental health services is used in the most effective way to deliver the Government's mental health policy.”

Ms Barry also stressed the importance of expediting the recruitment process for a new director in a “timely manner” so that long overdue plans to modernise the system can be accelerated.

The Government's 'A Vision for Change' document, published back 2006, outlines a 10-year strategy to shift mental health care from antiquated institutions to multi-disciplinary community-based centres.

One of the chief recommendations of the strategy was for the establishment of a directorate within the HSE to manage the implementation of reform of mental health services.

The absence of a body to drive change at an executive level within the HSE has been highlighted by interest groups and the independent monitoring group established to oversee the strategy as one of the primary reasons for the slow pace of reform.