Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 7 November 2023
Committee on Mental Health
Mental Health Care for Migrants and Ethnic Minorities: Discussion
Ms Emilia Marchelewska:
It is basically an accumulation of different risk factors. We can see this in complex cases. For example, people coming from Mariupol are much more traumatised and it is much more visible. If they are trying to cope with the situation through drinking, for example, there may be a dual diagnosis. Their accommodation may not be suitable. Their behaviour may be labelled antisocial. They may be moved from one centre to another without getting the proper support. If they are moved from a centre in the west of Ireland to the east of Ireland and the care does not follow, they may have to contend with waiting times and all of that because the pathways are disturbed. There is, therefore, an accumulation of difficulties among people who are getting this help. I know of a gentleman who was thrown out of a centre because of these very issues: mental health and addictions. When he did not pay his meal fees, he was thrown out and could not get any other accommodation. He then turned up to hospital twice with suicidal ideation.