Mental health issues for carers with no back-up
A conference on mental health stigma held in Dublin yesterday heard that many people, who have lost their job, are now providing direct care for disabled family members, often with no training.
Chief executive of People With Disabilities in Ireland (PWDI) Morgan McKnight said other issues were also causing concern in households around the country, such as the changed economic situation which could threaten funding for services.
The conference, organised by PWDI and the See Change campaign, heard many people voice concerns over the possible dilution of resources in the area of mental health.
One of the speakers was the Minister with Responsibility for Mental Health John Moloney, who said the focus would now be on children and adolescents and early intervention.
The minister said there was a need for smarter spending and a more collaborative approach in the mental health area, given the economic situation.
The Government has been pursuing the closure of older mental health facilities and a move to community-based care.
However, Mr McKnight said there was a concern that reduced spending could increase the number of people slipping through gaps in the system.
“The Government has committed to closing these facilities but if they can’t provide community mental health services we will be worse off than ever,” he said.
Mr McKnight said many people are losing their jobs, “people who would have been buying in care and attention for people with disabilities and now are doing it themselves”.
He said in some cases this led to “increased strain”, while other people could not afford to turn down any work that came available, meaning the amount of time to be dedicated to family members with a disability was also a problem.
www.pwdi.ie and www.seechange.ie
