Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In her response, I had hoped the Minister of State could address some of the questions I have raised. She made the point that very few patients come directly to the psychiatric services via an emergency department. I can tell her that is not the case in Portiuncula Hospital where a substantial number of people have come through the emergency department, as the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, will be aware.

I will put to the Minister of State a hypothetical situation, which highlights the flaws in what is happening not just in our catchment area but across the country. A woman from Baylough on the Connacht side of Athlone might give birth to a baby in the local maternity hospital up the road, which is Portiuncula Hospital. If that baby has serious complications he or she could not go home with the mother and because of that separation the mother might suffer post-natal depression, which is not uncommon. However, instead of that woman being treated beside her baby in Ballinasloe, she would need to travel 70 miles to St. Loman's Hospital in Mullingar.

If I were to cut my finger here today I could go to St. James's Hospital and have it sutured but if I were harmful to myself or someone else in this House I would have to be transported to the acute psychiatric unit in Roscommon town because that is my designated unit.

Why is mental illness not being treated the same as physical illness? St. Luke's unit in Ballinasloe, which is the most modern in the country, cannot provide a service to patients within its own local catchment area - so much for treating the patient as close as possible to his or her home. Would it not make far more sense to put mental health on an equal footing with physical health and allow catchments in respect of acute psychiatric units to be similar to those for accident and emergency departments in respect of general hospitals?

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