Patients ‘not able to access’ psychologists

THE “overwhelming majority” of public mental health patients who need psychological interventions are not getting them, the Irish Association of Psychologists in Mental Health has said.

The coalition of 100 HSE psychologists says this means a continued over-reliance on the prescribing of medications, which in many cases is not the right treatment.

Dr Eoin Galavan, the group’s spokesperson, said clinical psychology services are “hugely under-resourced” and this simply is not good enough.

“There are many areas of the country that have no access to psychological care which means the overwhelming majority of patients, 80%-90%, do not have access to the services they should be getting. It’s very disappointing to say the least as we know what we are supposed to be doing but we are not doing it.”

In 2008, the association made a presentation to the Joint Committee on Health and Children warning about a “void” in psychological therapies both in primary and secondary care.

Since, then, Dr Galavan maintains things have actually dis-improved.

“There are currently 140 psychologists working in the HSE’s child and adult community teams. The very basic minimum required is 156 for children and 156 for adults. And that is just to have one psychologist for every 25,000 people.”

Dr Galavan said there is considerable evidence that engaging in psychological therapies is not only a more effective treatment, but also cheaper than long term medications. “When one uses an effective psychological treatment for a disorder, it is time-limited. The medication is not time-limited and the studies have found savings after just two years of going through the process. However, many people are maintained on medication for 10, 20 or 30 years, so the savings are far greater than those shown by the studies.”

Head of community-based services at St John of God’s, Dr Siobhán Barry, said there are examples of excellence in pockets around the country and that these projects need to be replicated nationwide as a matter of urgency.

“It should not be the case that someone living in one area can access such a service as someone in another area can’t. We all pay the same taxes and we should all have access to the same quality of care.”