Government accused of ultimate U-turn

OPPOSITION parties yesterday accused the Government of “the ultimate U-turn” for failing to ensure reinvestment in mental health services of funds raised from the sale of psychiatric hospital lands.

Fine Gael spokesman on mental health Dan Neville said the Government had ignored its own policy by not ensuring these funds were ring-fenced for the future development of mental health services.

A key recommendation of the Government’s mental health policy document, A Vision for Change, says resources released by the sale of psychiatric institutions should be protected for re-investment in mental health services.

However, a report launched yesterday by the Irish Psychiatric Association (IPA) claimed both the Government and the Health Service Executive (HSE) were guilty of widespread asset-stripping of the buildings and lands of former psychiatric institutions.

The IPA report, The Lie of the Land, said a consequence “of the poor husbandry of our assets” is seen in the continuing failure to resource new community-based mental health services.

“An additional outcome... is that the residual long-stay residents continue to live in dilapidated and often deeply impoverished and stigmatising environments,” said the IPA report.

Sinn Féin health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said mental health services remained “the most neglected sector of our health services”.

However, a statement from the HSE said capital funding of €145m has been expended on the upgrading of mental health facilities under the National Development Plan 2000 to 2007.

The statement said: “Additional funding under the National Development Plan of €20m per annum will be provided in the period 2008-2011.”

It also said a comprehensive programme for the valuation and sale of facilities previously used for mental health care is currently in progress and all revenue raised from these sales will be directed towards improving modern mental health services.

Separately, Beaumont Hospital denied a claim in the IPA report that a site earmarked for an acute psychiatric unit was no longer available for the transfer of patients from St Ita’s psychiatric hospital.

A hospital statement said a site was available.

However, the original site selected has been redesignated for a co-location project.