James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Deputy for raising the matter. There is no question or doubt that, historically, the mental health services in this country have been the Cinderella of the health services. I had the pleasure of opening a new acute psychiatric unit in Beaumont Hospital last Friday, something we have waited over 25 years for. When St. Ita's was built, it was a state-of-the-art engineering feat that appeared on the front of the international engineering magazine in 1902 or thereabouts. However, I know from information gleaned from working in that institution over many years as a visiting GP that the original intention was to build the hospital on Lambay Island - out of sight, out of mind, and the further away the better. The next furthest point was the peninsula at Portrane. Thankfully, we live in much more enlightened times. The Government's policy is to remove the stigma from health care relating to mental health, and all new primary care centres now have mental health facilities associated with them. Indeed, the new unit in Beaumont is a joy and a delight for the patients, and the unit is, in fact, named after a Mr. Sheehan, who was one of the service's long-standing clients. The whole approach has become much more client-oriented.

The Deputy raised some points that he believes still apply. That being the case, I will certainly come back to him in regard to their status. It would not be acceptable that a leak was not fixed and that patients were in that scenario. It takes time to build new facilities. We are moving to a new model of care and, as I am sure the Deputy agrees, we want people kept in the community in so far as is possible, and we need to transfer staff to the community in order to do that. Community facilities are more appropriate and, although they are not necessarily more cost-effective, it is best outcomes for patients that we want. That is our focus. A lot of extra money has gone into our mental health service in this regard - rightly so - and that continues to be the case. I will certainly undertake to check the areas about which the Deputy has concerns and I will revert to him in writing.

At Beaumont I made the point that in the past we had had a terrible situation in which patients were in large rooms with paint peeling off the walls, but they were getting excellent care, and when they moved to the palatial surroundings of the likes of Leas Cross, the care was not good at all. We need to do both. I congratulate, commend and thank the staff who do such a great job looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

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