'This must be backed up with funds': Mental health action plan gets cautious welcome

Perinatal mental health continues to be looked at, including negotiations underway to develop a much-needed specialist inpatient admission unit for mothers and babies. File photo

A three-year action plan to expand mental health services for adults and young people has been welcomed as helping to modernise services in Ireland.

The details of how this rolls out matter, however, with even HSE CEO Bernard Gloster saying: “Those of us who recall previous policy frameworks for mental health know that implementation is critical.“ 

So what changes could people expect to see under the Sharing the Vision implementation plan?

Out of hours services will be added to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) as part of a new model of care for young people. 

All youth services will work on a new ‘single point of access’ to help people navigate what is now a complex maze of services.

Improved supports for young people moving into adult services are planned. This includes moving the age of transition from 18 to 25.

More recruitment should see some of the gaping holes in staff rosters filled, which should make access easier.

Perinatal mental health continues to be looked at, including negotiations underway to develop a much-needed specialist inpatient admission unit for mothers and babies.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

ADHD Ireland has spoken of “an explosion” in demand for adult services. The aim now is to have 10 teams nationally, up from five full-time and two part-time teams.

General projects include a phased roll-out of Electronic Health Records. Dr Brian Mahony, Irish Medical Organisation member, previously described the delays caused when patients transfer between services with huge paper files. 

“You have to take out all the sheets in the file to fax them to the unit, and then you have to put the whole thing back. It takes hours because you have to put each sheet in individually because the holes [from hole punchers] are all different," he said.

The plan will also support roll-out of the National Autism Protocol to give children and young people access to assessment and early intervention.

Mental Health Reform, the national coalition of mental health charities, welcomed Minister Mary Butler’s commitment to enact the Mental Health Bill 2024 as soon as practicable.

Interim CEO Philip Watt said this plan “will help to modernise and promote mental health services in Ireland”. However he cautioned: “This must be backed up with investment in Budget 2026 and beyond.” 

A separate funding announcement followed the Mental Health Commission raising the alarm about the standards of buildings in acute residential units. At the adult unit on the grounds of Cork University Hospital under HSE South West, they warned about staff shortages and safety standards in the building.

Susie Keane, whose elderly mother was a patient at the unit, echoed these frustrations, saying: "When I read the report, I felt less alone, I felt this is not just a poor service that my mother is experiencing." 

The €31m in capital funding for mental health included money for fire safety works and ligature reduction works nationally. It should also see new facilities for the Mercy University Hospital, University Hospital Waterford and a specialist eating disorders hub.