NI Mental Health Budget is "a joke"

The head of Northern Ireland’s Mental Health Commission today branded its annual budget a ‘‘joke’’.

Francis Walsh, chief executive of the organisation charged with monitoring mentally ill patients, said the £400,000 (€642,000) it received from the UK's Department of Health meant it could barely fulfil its remit.

‘‘The budget we receive to provide a full regional service is a bit of a joke.

‘‘At any given time there are up to 700 residential homes, day centres and hostels in Northern Ireland where there could be people suffering from mental disorders.

‘‘We can’t effectively monitor all of these places but we can’t even scratch the surface with £400,000.’’

Mr Walsh has passed on his concerns to the Department and the Assembly’s Health Committee.

‘‘The Department is fully aware of the difficulties we have but we haven’t had any easing of them.

‘‘We feel that it isn’t treating us seriously and we were forced to raise the issue with the committee.’’

Health Minister Bairbre de Brun has announced a complete review of Northern Ireland’s mental health legislation scheduled to be completed by 2004.

Mr Walsh said current legislation that enables people to be detained against their will without leave of appeal to an independent body was outdated.

‘‘These people aren’t criminals. They are ill and they need to have their rights looked after properly.’’

Under the Mental Health (NI) Order 1986, only qualified doctors are allowed access to patients’ records in Northern Ireland.

Just three of the commission’s 15 part-time commissioners are medically qualified which means its access to records is severely restricted.

Assembly member Monica McWilliams, who chairs an all-party mental health group at Stormont, called for an amendment to current legislation to enable all the commissioners to examine records.

‘‘It seems to me that if you are appointed as a mental health commissioner you should have access to records.’’