Vulnerable adults in custody

Sir, – Emmet Murray (February 3rd) makes an important point in relation to how vulnerable adults, particularly those with mental health difficulties, are treated when in custody by the Garda.

In Northern Ireland, as in the rest of the UK, there is always a trained social worker with mental health experience available to ensure that the person’s welfare is protected.

In the Republic, we have specialist mental health services, and a patchy network of primary care teams, but we lack the organisation that ensures, as is the case with children’s services, that there is always a social worker available to respond and support vulnerable persons who may have been arrested.

Arguably it is not just an issue of resources, but of how we organise our health services. Having a clear point of access for anyone to access support from primary care or mental health teams, with a named manager who can take responsibility to ensure referrals are followed up, would be an important start. – Yours, etc,

READ MORE

FRANK BROWNE,

Templeogue,

Dublin 16.