Mental health strategy review
Dessie Ellis raises under-resourcing, nurse departures and the delayed review of A Vision for Change. The Taoiseach says the expert review of the Mental Health Act has been completed and submitted for consideration.
The programme for Government promised additional resources for mental health services. It also contained a commitment to undertake a full review of the mental health strategy, A Vision for Change. However, this appears to have been taken off the agenda. Almost 1,000 nurses will leave the health service this year, including a substantial number in the mental health service. The Government must deliver on its promise by addressing the current crisis. What happened to the review of A Vision for Change? Will this issue be addressed in the health reform Bill? Will the public service recruitment embargo be lifted not only in mental health services but also across the health service to address the serious shortage of nurses?
Comment on this
The final report of the expert group established to review the Mental Health Act 2001 has been completed and presented to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, for consideration. The Deputy is correct that the programme for Government contained a commitment to review the Act of 2001. The review was to be informed by human rights standards and carried out in consultation with users, carers and other personnel based on a two-phase approach. The first phase involved a steering group which produced a well received interim report in June 2012. An expert group was then established in August 2012 to examine the steering group's recommendations. It completed its report in December 2014 which it presented to the Minister of State.
The figure of 750 mentioned by Deputy Dessie Ellis refers to the number of nurses who will be eligible to leave the health service on retirement this year. While many may choose to do so, we do not yet know what the final figure will be. The Health Service Executive is looking at the projections to fill these places. Perhaps nurses who trained here and have expertise in mental health services might return from abroad. I suggest the Deputy submit to the Ceann Comhairle a request to discuss this matter in the Topical Issue debate for the purpose of eliciting further information in a few weeks time.