Mr. Martin Rogan:

Public perception is really important. Sometimes in decision making perception can become reality very quickly. I was talking to some Canadian colleagues last year and they were describing how in the past they used to talk about new growth of the outer chest wall, when talking about cancer. I am very conscious there is a very difficult discussion on that in the Oireachtas today. In Canada they were not allowed in polite company to use the language of cancer or breast and when people did not talk about these issues there was a problem. I think we have moved on very radically from that. The National University of Ireland, Galway, NUIG, has done some interesting research on this with the public, asking them individually, if there was some funding to spend, whether it should be invested in older person services, cancer control services or mental health services. They discovered that even people who use mental health services were reluctant to step forward and say we need to invest in mental health services. Unless there is a credible and recognised prospect of recovery, one would not throw good money after bad. What is really important, as mentioned by Mr. Ian Power and Dr. Joseph Duffy, is there is a viral movement happening within the mental health community services. In the Bonnington Hotel, 200 people will hear from those who have experienced mental health services who will come forward to describe how they have rebuilt their lives and will share that experience. That is a really important message but it is happening below the radar. There is a very different vibe.

Dr. Duffy has also mentioned staff mental health. For those working in the mental health space, and I have worked in this space for over three decades, one is meeting people who are very broken and have had a lot of disadvantage in their lives. Depending on how we understand mental health issues, one may ask whether this is distress and trauma, disease, disadvantage, disability and sometimes it can be all of the above. For staff members it is really important that morale is kept high. The essence of good mental health care is what we call that synaptic space, where the person in distress and difficulty meets with a skilled professional. The morale of staff is really quite difficult to maintain. I heard it said that the floggings will continue until morale improves. Beating up on the staff who are doing extraordinary work in very limited circumstances is not helpful. It might be entertaining, it might be theatrical, but it does not progress things at all. It is really important that we acknowledge the work that is being done and recognise the work that needs to be set out to do next. There is a different dialogue happening in the mental health space, in terms of service users and our younger population, which is very new and I think it needs to be followed though with actions and resources. I am certainly encouraged.