Mental health expert group ‘must look beyond outdated British model’

THE expert group charting the way forward for mental health services here must look beyond the outdated British model, a top psychiatrist has warned.

“Let’s hope it is a new roadmap and not a rehashing of old methods of dealing with psychiatric problems,” said Prof Patrick McKeon, medical director at St Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin.

He was especially anxious that the group resisted copying what was happening in Britain, where psychiatry and the care of the mentally ill had taken several steps backwards in recent years.

Dr McKeon, who is also involved with AWARE, the support group for people suffering from depression, said he hoped the views of all service users and not just those who were politically active were taken on board.

The planned policy document, just announced by Tim O’Malley, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, will replace the 1984 plan, Planning for the Future, that resulted in a sustained decline in the number of in-patients in psychiatric hospitals and a corresponding increase in a range of care facilities based in the community.

Amnesty International said it was glad the expert group had 18 months to complete its work. A new mental health policy would be critical to the long-term future of mental health and should not be rushed.

“While we would have liked to have seen greater representation of service users, we trust that full service-user participation will be assured during the promised consultation process,” Amnesty stated.

Seán Love, director of Amnesty’s Irish section, said the new policy must be followed by a detailed implementation programme from the Government.

Planning for the Future had not led to an adequate, comprehensive or equitably resourced service, he warned. “Mental health service users and providers are still struggling with an outdated, fragmented and severely under-resourced system.”

Dr Eamon Maloney, clinical director of the South Lee Mental Health Services and co-author of the report The Stark Facts, published by the Irish Psychiatric Association, said there was a huge variation in the availability of clinical resources throughout the country and areas of greatest deprivation fared worse.

Because there was no adequate psycho-social treatment available to patients suffering from a mental illness there was an over-emphasis on the medical model.

Dave Reidy, manager of Cork Mental Health Association, said Planning for the Future was a very good blueprint for the development of mental health services because it dispelled the notion that people with a mental illness could only be treated in a psychiatric hospital.

Mr Reidy said he was particularly anxious that provision of daycare services was given priority because they were desperately needed by so many.