Minister calls for rapid mental health reform

IMPROVEMENTS in the mental health services are not happening fast enough, the minister with responsibility for the sector conceded yesterday.

Minister of State Tim O'Malley said he would regard it as a failure if the majority of people inappropriately placed in psychiatric hospitals were not rehoused in suitable accommodation within the next four years.

But while acknowledging mental health as the "cinderella" of the health services, he also warned that hospitals would have to stay within their budgets despite the demands for higher standards of care.

"Money is being put into services and it is the responsibility of management to translate it into improvements. No one area of the health sector can ignore the budget," he said.

Mr O'Malley was speaking after a private visit to St Ita's Hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin, where he visited units occupied by people with intellectual disabilities who, according to Government policy, should not be in a hospital for the mentally ill.

The Government's health strategy states all such residents should be moved to dedicated facilities by 2006 but a plan to build an entire sheltered housing complex specially for these residents on the St Ita's campus has not moved beyond planning permission stage.

During his visit, which was at the invitation of the parents and supporters group Friends of St Ita's, Mr O'Malley saw residents displaying "challenging behaviour" which, in this case, meant trying to bang themselves against walls. He described the experience as "not very pleasant".

Mark Harrold, a psychologist who recently joined Friends of St Ita's, described it as "scandalous". "

He said: "People are literally bored senseless. When people are properly occupied, you don't get this kind this of behaviour but in the absence of proper therapy and stimulation and there is little of either here all the staff can do is medicate them. It's an abuse of their human rights. The United Nations and Amnesty have condemned this kind of institution."

The number of intellectually disabled residents at St Ita's has almost halved in the past decade to 240 and there is a long-term plan to rehouse them all but, in the meantime, services fall far below what is recommended.

There is no dedicated psychologist, occupational therapist or social worker and the most recent report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals published last September repeated criticisms made in previous years about physical conditions for residents and staff.

Mr O'Malley said the physical state of the accommodation was better than he had expected in such an outdated building and he praised staff for keeping the place comfortable and clean and the atmosphere welcoming in demanding conditions. He promised to make a return visit in six months to monitor progress.