James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Professor Kelly stated, the statistics are quite stark and we seem to be going even further down the direction of closing these beds. He stated: "As a result, the key human rights issue in Irish psychiatry today is not disproportionate denial of the right to liberty due to over-custodial care, but, rather, issues concerning the right to access to an appropriate level of care when it is needed, including inpatient care." One of the most common situations with which I deal is just such cases, namely patients who may no longer need to be in an acute unit in psychiatric department but who are not fit to be discharged. I have dealt with patients who have serious dual-diagnosis issues. They are discharged from acute care, they then go to the county council and may be put into bed and breakfast accommodation over a pub. The interim beds that are required are not in place. We have also seen complaints from the forensic mental health services at the central mental hospital where people are being kept in prisons because there is not enough beds there either. There is a serious question to be addressed in that decongregation, in certain respects, is going too far and it needs to be very seriously considered. It is about appropriate care, not blindly applying a particular policy.

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