Psychiatric services not good enough, admits minister

Psychiatric services for people with intellectual disabilities in the Irish Republic are greatly under-resourced and underdeveloped, it was claimed today.

Tim O’Malley, Minister for State at the Department of Health said while it was recognised that services had greatly improved, further work was urgently required.

Launching a policy document on behalf of the Irish College of Psychiatrists, he said: “There have been great improvements in the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities – but psychiatric services have not kept pace.

“These services are greatly under-resourced and grossly undeveloped – and in some counties we have no psychiatric services for people with intellectual disabilities.”

The document, ‘A Proposal Model for the Delivery of a Mental Health Service for People with Intellectual Disability’, was prepared by the Faculty of Learning Disability Psychiatry of the Irish College of Psychiatrists and details 20 recommendations.

These include a significant reform of the mental health services for people with intellectual disability and reinforced funding for mental health services nationwide.

It identifies the need to develop a specialist mental health service for several reasons including the importance of accurate diagnosis and complicated drug therapies.

Mr O’Malley said: “People want proper services and as far as I’m concerned, as minister with responsibility both for disabilities and mental health, the money has been put in, but we haven’t got the services.”

There are two major reviews currently underway in relation to disability and mental health services which the minister said he hoped would guide the improvement of mental health services in coming years.