St Patrick's Hospital in Dublin is set to offer mental health treatments at a number of regional centres in the Republic as part of a major expansion of its service.
The development, which will be formally unveiled this morning as part of a new five-year strategic plan for the hospital, will also mark the first time VHI Healthcare will pay for its subscribers to be treated for psychiatric illness on an out-patient basis.
St Patrick's Hospital could double the 3,000 patients it currently treats under the €300 million plan. It also expects to increase staff numbers by 15 per cent between 2008 and 2013 as part of the "Mental Health Matters" strategic programme.
The new strategy will see the first regional treatment centre established in either the southeast or northeast within the next year, The Irish Times has learned. St Patrick's Hospital will also set up community mental health facilities in Dublin West, Dublin North and South Dublin, as well as two city centre clinics.
Further regional centres will be put in place to complete the availability of mental health support centres across the State. Among a range of expanded services will be a cocaine addiction programme.
The VHI has confirmed that while exact reimbursement details have yet to be worked out, it is committed to the development of community mental health services.
"VHI Healthcare will partner with St Patrick's in the delivery of its ambitious five-year plan," the State's largest health insurer said. It has specifically committed to supporting the hospital's development of multidisciplinary, community-based mental health services and online support services.
As part of the plan, the not-for- profit, independent hospital will establish a web-based support service. Asked how this might benefit patients, Paul Gilligan, chief executive of St Patrick's, said it would significantly increase the accessibility of its services.
"For example, if you are a person with mental illness living at home and you become depressed on a Saturday evening, it will be possible to have a real-time consultation on the web with a therapist in St Pat's."
Emphasising that the web initiative was one element in a range of services, Mr Gilligan said: "The community-based services are intended to support and help those suffering from mental illness within their own community, as well as support those making the transition from the hospital's in-patient services and recovery centre."
St Patrick's also plans a Mental Illness Recovery Centre to help patients integrate their illness with the rest of their lives. It will include multicultural programmes to cater for sufferers of mental illness from different ethnic backgrounds. "We will ensure that those suffering from mental illness are fully included in Irish society and their rights are fully acknowledged," it states.
Welcoming the strategy, Dr Jim Lucey, medical director of St Patrick's, said: "Our ethos has always been to engender positive mental attitudes to mental health and to provide the best and most up-to-date diagnoses and services."