Just half of mental health funds delivered

ABOUT half of the €50 million promised by the Government for mental health services over the past two years has been delivered to date, according to a leading advocacy group.

Mental Health Ireland (MHI) said yesterday that services such as child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry and adult psychiatry are being left behind as a result of the shortage in funding since 2006.

On the eve of its annual conference in Killarney, MHI reiterated a call to make the issue a national priority.

Chief executive Brian Howard said: “The pressures young people are under are well-documented and Mental Health Ireland strongly believes that early attention to promoting positive mental health is required to prepare young people, from an early age, to recognise and cope with these pressures.”

Mr Howard said yesterday there was “a serious lack of funding” for the necessary development of services, although about €25 million annually was committed by the Government.

“In the first two years, over €50 million was promised, but only half of that reached the particular services that were identified as priorities.”

He said that child and adolescent psychiatry was in urgent need of investment — particularly the lack of dedicated psychiatric beds for teens. “This should have been done two years ago. It wasn’t just a demand that was made by an organisation like ourselves, this was a commitment made by the Government. In 2006, the Celtic Tiger was roaring at full strength and they’ve said it so many times about making that commitment.”

Mr Howard said investing in mental health services for children and adolescents represented “an investment in the future” and made long-term economic sense.

“If you don’t tackle these issues at an early age, it can lead to more problems going into later adolescence and adulthood,” he said.

Other areas the conference will concentrate on include the rights of people who have experienced mental illness, such as rights to work, support, social welfare and other benefits.

More than 200 delegates are expected to attend the conference in Killarney.

Speakers from Ireland and Britain will address issues central to MHI’s efforts to raise awareness of mental health issues and increase supports for improved mental health services, and for programmes to promote positive mental health approaches.

The HSE said last night that, of the 2007 funding, €10m has been committed in areas such as forensics, assisted admissions, mental health promotion, clinical psychology and registered psychiatric nurse training and the Office for Suicide Prevention.

“For 2008 the HSE has prioritised child and adolescent psychiatry in line with the recommendations contained within Vision for Change. The Service Plan 2008 includes the provision of eight additional consultant child psychiatry teams to further support the provision of child psychiatric services.”