Mental health nurses ‘going unreplaced’

MENTAL health services are “haemorrhaging” personnel, the Mental Health Commission has warned.

In some areas 20% of nurses had left and had not been replaced due to a moratorium on recruitment, the MHC said.

The commission said the losses were happening at a time when services were experiencing an increased demand because of the economic recession.

MHC chairman Dr Edmond O’Dea said that nurses had been withdrawn from community services in order to plug gaps in in-patient units.

“This is another factor slowing down the move from institutional to community care that we all want,” said Dr O’Dea at the launch of the commission’s 2010 report.

He said the recession had put additional pressure on individuals and this had led to increased demand for mental health services.

Dr O’Dea said it was very difficult to secure the resources to achieve the changes and improvements in mental services that were required.

The commission also expressed disappointment they had not seen the fundamental changes anticipated in a Vision for Change now that they were at the half-way point in the 10-year timetable.

While welcoming the Government’s decision to ring-fence €35 million a year to move people from institutions into modern community services, he said there was a need to hasten progress.

The commission also expressed concern that the number of applications by gardaí for involuntary admission into approved centres had increased from 16% to 23% since 2007.

Applications by a spouse or relative have fallen from 69% to 61%, while applications by Health Service Executive authorised officers had remained at 7%.

The MHC is concerned that visible Garda involvement in involuntary admissions could both alarm and stigmatise vulnerable people and their families and believes it should only happen when there is no alternative.

MHC chief executive Patricia Gilheaney said Ireland did not have a fully functioning authorised officer service, as was the case in other countries, that could assist families and reduce the number of applications made by the gardaí.

While the report records a 16% increase in the admission of children to psychiatric services last year, there was a 24% decrease in admissions of children to adult units.

Ms Gilheaney believes the increase in child admissions was due to the provision of more beds that were age appropriate.

Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health, Kathleen Lynch, who welcomed the report, said reforming mental health services was not just about increased financial development, it was also about staff being receptive to change.

Campaign group Mental Health Reform, which has called for the effects of the staff cuts to be analysed, said the HSE recruitment moratorium must not be used as a blunt tool for cost cutting.