Mental health group well received
However, mental health and disability campaigners warned any policies suggested by the new group must be fully supported by the Government if services and conditions for the mentally ill are to be brought up to scratch.
The new group was announced yesterday by Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for mental health Tim O’Malley, and is expected to report within 18 months.
Chaired by Professor Joyce O’Connor, president of the National College of Ireland, the expert group is charged with preparing a new national policy framework for the mental health services to replace the existing and outdated policy document, Planning for the Future, which was published in 1984.
The expert group will specifically examine models of care in Ireland and elsewhere, the roles of medication and complementary therapies and while the stigmatisation of the mentally ill will also be considered.
Crucial psychiatric services for specialised groups such as the homeless, prisoners, children and adolescents will also be reviewed in consultation with lobby groups and disability campaigners.
Amnesty International, which is in the process of carrying out an ongoing highly critical campaign on deficiencies in the Irish mental health services, said any recommendations from the new group must be financially supported by dedicated resources.
Amnesty’s mental health policy officer Fiona Crowley said any new policy drives, no matter how positive, would fail without adequate financial backing. “The best policies in the world will not be implemented unless there are resources there backed up by a set time frame,” she said.
Ms Crowley warned other well-intentioned policy developments in the past had never been properly implemented due to financial constraints. “Whatever emerges as policy needs to have a clear programme of action, clear time frames and dedicated resources if it is to avoid the course taken by other mental health initiatives in the past.”
However, the establishment of the group and its composition was a good early sign, she said.
John Dolan, chief executive of the Disability Federation of Ireland, cautiously welcomed the announcement but expressed disappointment that more representatives of the voluntary community sector had not been included on the panel.
“I would be concerned that the balance is very poorly tilted towards the community and voluntary side,” he said. “However, I do welcome the focus on catching up on groups such as young people and homeless people who were left out of the last drive,” he said.
Mr O’Malley moved quickly to allay fears that any recommendations made by the new body would not be accepted. “There is no point in setting up an expert group to recommend policy unless the Government is prepared to implement that policy,” he said.
