We seek the best for mentally ill

IN response to recent media coverage relating to service provision in St Brendan’s Hospital in Dublin we wish to describe the nature of, and the context in which, services are delivered by the hospital.

St Brendan’s has been the district mental hospital for Dublin since the beginning of the 19th century. Having served the city and county area for almost 200 years, the hospital has undergone significant changes, in particular since the 1960s when it catered for over 2,000 patients.

St Brendan’s has developed to keep abreast of international trends to decentralise the provision of psychiatric care from large institutional settings to multidisciplinary community services and towards the development of acute psychiatric facilities in general hospitals.