Call to reinstate pre-pandemic day services for adults with intellectual disability

The senior medics said the have seen "negative impacts on the mental health of adults with intellectual disability and their family carers.” File picture: Pexels

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has written to ministers in the Department of Health urging the reinstatement of pre-pandemic day services and respite services for adults with intellectual disability.

The College said that its members have observed the negative impacts that the closure of services has had on the mental health of service users and their family carers.

It has also called for these services and the staff to be deemed essential in future by the State and its agencies so that they can continue during future crises. In March 2020, day services for people with intellectual disabilities closed with only a small number of exceptions.

They began to re-open again in the late summer of 2020, and the HSE said that service-users received “varying levels of service since then”.

In September, the HSE said that the level of service provided equated to “an average of 60% of the service level that service users were receiving pre-Covid-19”, with a plan in place to return to full coverage.

In its letter to Ministers Stephen Donnelly, Mary Butler and Anne Rabbitte, the College of Psychiatrists said: “Our consultant members will continue to work collaboratively with service providers to ensure efficient and timely full re–opening of all to ensure our patients receive the best possible care and support.

“When these essential services are lacking and / or not open fully faculty members, in their clinical work, have observed negative impacts on the mental health of adults with intellectual disability and their family carers.” 

It was signed by Dr Maeve Moran, chair of the faculty of psychiatry of learning disability, and Dr William Flannery, president of the college. A letter outlining the same request was sent to Health Service Executive CEO, Paul Reid.

It’s understood the College has yet to receive a response from the Department of Health, which was contacted for comment.

A study from TU Dublin and Inclusion Ireland on the experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities during the Covid-19 crisis last year found that many felt isolated, anxious and fearful as a result of the closure of the day services at the start of the pandemic.

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The research, conducted by and with people with intellectual disabilities, argued that people with disabilities must be allowed to play a more active role in decisions affecting their lives as the Covid-19 crisis continues.

The concerns raised in this area comes as an intensive care consultant at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) said that parts of the healthcare system are going to have to shut down if Covid numbers continue to surge.

Dr Catherine Motherway told RTÉ radio we are now in “war time” and while medics will continue to try to treat patients, they may not have the same level of care “as in peacetime”.