Teenagers at risk due to lack of psychiatric services

A LACK of specialist services for young people with psychiatric problems leaves them at risk of homelessness, criminal involvement and suicide, the inspector of mental health services has warned.

Dr Teresa Carey said young people with severe mental illness were frequently left without a proper, appropriate and focused specialist service.

“It the lack of care to that particular group that brings community psychiatry to the attention of the media because such people, if they don’t receive the appropriate care, are shown to be much more at risk of becoming homeless, living on the streets, falling foul of the law through petty offences and dying by suicide,” she said.

Dr Carey was speaking at the launch yesterday of the first annual report of the Mental Health Commission where she said Government attempts to end the institutionalisation of psychiatric patients had failed.

“Unfortunately, many countries, including ourselves, made the mistake of beginning to close long-stay wards in mental hospitals before we put in place the alternative care system and supports for people with enduring mental illness.”

She said patients were being discharged from mental hospitals into staffed hospitals in the community that had effectively become long-stay wards, and were not getting the specialist services they needed. The Health Service Executive welcomed the report and said it will invest an extra €15 million this year.