Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin has tabled this Private Members' motion hoping to highlight the ongoing need to improve the State's response to mental health and to highlight the need for a comprehensive response to suicide prevention. No one Member of this Oireachtas is immune to mental health problems. No family is immune to the tragedy of suicide. Three years ago tomorrow I lost a good friend who took her own life and I miss her every day. We must also remember that none of us know when we will need to access mental health services. The mental health of the nation is a positive resource that can help both economic and social recovery. The World Health Organization's paper on mental health in times of economic crisis, published in 2007, said:

Mental health is an indivisible part of public health and significantly affects countries and their human, social andeconomic capital. Mental health is not merely the absence of mental disorders or symptoms but also a resource supporting overall well-being and productivity.

Thankfully in recent years the stigma in regard to mental health is reducing. The Government has run successful campaigns, including the recent Green Ribbon campaign, and See Change where mental health champions speak about their own experiences. That has done a lot to address stigma. Unfortunately, there are huge challenges in our mental health services. Many of the shortcomings are a result of Government policy. Cutting back on funding andresources in the current climate is a recipe for disaster with serious life-threatening consequences. The Mental Health Commission, the Government watchdog, indicated in its annual report that mental health services are in danger of stagnating and moving backwards. That is due to a combination of staff shortages and slow changes to work practices meaning progress in some areas has ground to a halt. Only 44% of services complied with staffing requirements last year, while 60% met regulations on individual care plans for patients. That is unacceptable. In all, a total of 9,000 staff work in mental health services in the State, although official policy states there should be 12,000. Our health care system is overstretched and understaffed.

The Labour Party in its election manifesto 2011 gave a commitment to develop, "a strengthened role for GPs, and through the ongoing development of community mental health teams and child and adolescent mental health teams, as resources allow". Unfortunately the party has not seen fit to grant the necessary resources to community mental health teams. The fact that at the end of December 2013 the overall staffing levels for community mental health teams was still nearly 25% less than recommended in A Vision for Change points to the need for increased investment. Another unacceptable practice, to which the Minister of State alluded, is the placing of children in inappropriate adult hospital wards. Sadly, last year a total of 91 children were placed in adult psychiatric units despite warnings from the commission that such practice should only occur in extreme cases.

We must also ensure that those in prison receive appropriate mental health care. It is totally inappropriate for people to be isolated from supports and services simply because they are awaiting trial or in custody. They still have rights and the State has a responsibility to ensure those in prison receive proper care. Prisoners should have access to mental health services, visits and supports in order that the isolation of incarceration does not take hold. The denial of family visits and supports has certainly contributed to suicides in the prison system.

Suicide is a complex issue that demands a national, cross-departmental, co-ordinated response. We must have a comprehensive, all-Ireland suicide prevention strategy. The World Health Organization suggests that national suicide prevention strategies can make a difference to suicide rates. International research has shown a 10% to 17% reduction in suicide rates can be achieved over a three-year period when suicide prevention strategies involve a range of approaches at an individual, community and whole population level. A key priority for suicide prevention in Ireland is the development of an adequate 24/7 crisis support service for people experiencing severe mental or emotional distress. A Vision for Change states that a protocol for crisis intervention should be agreed upon for each area by the local community mental health team, CMHT, and that the agreed-upon response should be available 24/7. The motion seeks to refocus the Oireachtas on mental health and suicide prevention and on the need to implement A Vision for Change by ensuring sufficient resources and firm political commitment.

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