Funds for mental health services must 'double at least', says head of College of Psychiatrists

Dr Lorcan Martin said current funding for training doctors as specialists in psychiatry is around €600,000 short of what is needed.

Mental health services are “hollowed out” and the many critical reports will not help unless significant investment is made to help these vulnerable patients, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland have warned.

They said for every €20 of funding in the health system, just €1 goes into mental health despite a growing number of patients with mental illness and a workforce stricken by shortages.

Mental health services, particularly for children, have been the subject of a series of scathing reports this year leading to public outrage at gaps exposed. However, Dr Lorcan Martin, President of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and consultant in general adult psychiatry, said patients continue to be negatively affected.

“We have multiple reports, investigations, plans, and recommendations for the services but none is valuable without the political will to fund and prioritise the mental health of the nation,” he said.

During 2023 the health budget allocated across all mental health services came to over €1.2 billion which was described by the Government as a record investment. However, Dr Martin said this needs “to double at the very least, to €2bn, to bring us into line with mental health services of comparable countries such as France, England, and Scotland”.

He said current funding for training doctors as specialists in psychiatry is around €600,000 short of what is needed. There are 400 posts approved for psychiatrists across public mental health services when HSE data shows 647 are needed just to help the patients in need this year.

A survey carried out by the college found high levels of burnout as psychiatrists struggle to keep up with demand.

“Mental health services in Ireland have been hollowed out over the course of decades now,” he said. 

And the concerning and depressing result is a system with far too few psychiatrists treating an ever-increasing cohort of patients with mental illness.

The survey shows 46% of psychiatrists experience occupational stress, while one in three experienced burnout. Severe depression, anxiety, and stress are experienced by one in 10 psychiatrists, while one in five feel they do not have enough time for family or personal life.

“This is ironically having a hugely negative impact on the wellbeing and mental health of psychiatrists,” he warned. “And the ultimate losers are patients who simply cannot expect to receive the very best care if the doctors who treat and support them cannot cope with the demands that are being placed on them.” 

He pointed out that Budget Day on October 10 is also World Mental Health Day. He called for increased funding to address “scandalous shortfalls and corresponding systemic issues in our services”. 

This sector is also now seeing high levels of doctor emigration to countries where services are better resourced, he said.