Sir, - Further to Senator Mary Henry's letter of December 7th, may I also congratulate Vincent Browne for his forthright commentary and his commitment to highlighting the scandal in our mental hospitals, as outlined in the Inspector of Mental Hospitals report for the year ending December 1998.
The inspector states on page 2 of his report that "practice and protocol in each service was evaluated following a checklist which formed the basis of the `Guidelines to Quality Assurance and Good Practice in Mental Health Services' issued by the Department of Health and Children on behalf of the Inspectorate in 1998".
In other words, this checklist provides a benchmark for the qualitative assessment of our mental health services. Yet the inspector's report would indicate that many health professionals are unaware of or unfamiliar with these guidelines. Indeed, the evidence of the current report would suggest a devastating lack of will to apply the principles of "equity, quality of service and accountability" that underpin the document.
There are many worrying issues raised in the inspector's report but, perhaps centrally, there is a disturbing lack of attention to patient rights. It must be hoped that the impending and long-awaited new legislation will substantially improve the level of protection of rights available to patients. However, as well as the law, there must be the will to implement the recommended changes.
It is a shameful indictment of our society and political system that we greet the inspector's report and the lack of new legislation with such deafening silence. - Yours, etc., Patricia Seager,
Schizophrenia Ireland, Blessington Street, Dublin 7.