The Government has pledged today to close a total of 14 Victorian-era psychiatric hospitals and transfer a total of 1,200 patients to more modern community-based facilities within the next three years.
The Department of Health has secured €50 million to invest in new facilities and modernise the mental health service, as set out in its official policy, A Vision for Change.
There has been widespread criticism over the standards of accommodation in these outdated facilities, with mental health inspectors recently describing them as "inhuman" and "deplorable".
While there have numerous pledges to replace old facilities, Minister of State with responsibility for mental health John Moloney said he was confident that this time the Government's plegdes will be fulfilled.
“As long as these old facilities continue to admit new patients, people will not have faith in our mental health service,” he said.
“We have the funding available to us now. My priority is to close these down and develop a person-centred, recovery orientated mental health service which will improve the lives of people affected by mental illness.”
It is estimated that about 70 per cent of the 1,200 patients will be able to live in supported accommodation in the community. The remainder may need more specialised forms of care.
Officials at the Health Service Executive today confirmed that the €50 million it has secured is dependant on the sale of lands from existing psychiatric hospitals around the State this year. If these sales do not raise €50 million, health authorities could end up paying back the shortfall to the Exchequer.
However, Brian Gilroy, the HSE’s head of estates, said he was confident they would reach this figures despite the downturn in the property market. It already has around €15 million available from land sales in recent times, he said.
The closure of these hospitals is one of the aims of A Vision for Change, the Government's national policy for mental health services which was adopted four years ago. The Government has been heavily criticised for the slow rate of progress in implementing this plan.
Mr Moloney said that while there has been justifiable criticism, there have been significant achievements in recent years. These include a doubling in the number of child and adolescent beds to 30, shorter episodes of in-patient care, the appointment of executive clinical directors across the services and the active involvement of service users.
There are also plans for a major campaign to tackle the stigma which surrounded mental health issues.
The two-year campaign, due to begin next month, will involve celebrities, sports stars and other personalities who will seek to raise awareness of mental health issues and highlight the fact that around one-in-four people develop a mental health problem at some stage in their life.