Government action urged over mental-health reform

The Government has been severely criticised today over the delay in reforming mental health services.

A new report from the Irish Mental Health Coalition (IMHC), which was issued this morning, reveals systems to promote reform have not been put in place. It also states that targets for service delivery have not been met and that development funding has been substantially reduced.

The report was released to coincide with the third anniversary of the publication of A Vision for Change, the national mental health policy taht sets the basis for reforming the Irish mental health service.

The study shows that many of the targets included in the HSE Service Plan for 2008 are behind schedule.

"This report shows that mental health services are experiencing a painfully slow reform process. When A Vision for Changewas published in January 2006, it was to be the blueprint for a radical new approach to a newly prioritised mental health system," said John Saunders, chair of the IMHC.

"However, there has been a lack of Government action to match rhetoric. Progress in implementing policy outlined in A Vision for Changehas been slow and lacking in transparency."

The IMHC said people are struggling to access mental health services and warned demands on such services is likely to increase in the year ahead.

There were 20,769 admissions to inpatient mental heath units and hospitals in 2007 compared to 20,388 in 2006 – the first time there has been a year-on-year increase since 1986, according to figures from the Mental Health Commission.

In addition, a number of support organisations such as the Samaritans, One Family and Aware have reported a significant rise in calls to their helplines in recent months from people in financial distress.

The IMHC today called today for the publication of a detailed HSE plan that contains specific year-on-year targets, timeframes and human and financial resource commitments.

It also urged the Government to direct the HSE not to cut community services as part of its cost-cutting plan, to establish service-user representation at the National Steering Group of A Vision for Changeand to complete the National Service Users Executive elections.

Fine Gael claimed this afternoon that the IMHC report showed thatthe Government had failed to implement reform of health services.

"Ireland's mental health service, especially where children and adolescents are concerned, is a product of years of under-funding and neglect. The agreed strategy of 2006, A Vision for Change, offered a chance to bring real reform. Yet, the Fianna Fáil Government not only squandered bumper exchequer returns when they could have delivered improvements, they actually plundered the budget for the delivery of the strategy," said Fine Gael Senate leader and spokeswoman on Health and Children, Senator Frances Fitzgerald.