John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health issues, Deputy Jim Daly. I thank the Deputy for raising this very important and serious matter.

In the recent budget an additional €55 million was provided to progress new developments in mental health services this year. It brings overall Health Service Executive, HSE, mental health service funding to nearly €1 billion in 2019. This, in turn, will allow for continued improvements in all aspects of mental health care across the nine HSE community healthcare organisations, including CHO 8 which incorporates County Meath. Louth and Meath mental health services continue to strive to improve the level and quality of service being delivered and the environs in which it is delivered. The service supports clients in their recovery and rehabilitation as close to their home and community as possible. All of this is being done within the resources available. Referral to community psychiatric services is through general practitioners.

There is a range of care options provided by the mental health service for the population of County Meath. Acute inpatient beds for counties Louth and Meath are located in the department of psychiatry at Crosslanes in Drogheda. Referral for assessment is either through a GP or an emergency department. With regard tp community adult outpatient services, three teams are based in An Táin and cover Navan, Kells and Trim, and one is in Ashbourne. The psychiatric day hospital service covers Navan hospital and Ashbourne primary care centre. Examples of services provided from the day hospital include stress management, cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy, alcohol counselling and a Clozaril clinic. Therapeutic interventions in line with national clinical care programmes are also being delivered, including, for example, for first episode psychosis and eating disorders. A first episode psychosis team is being established.

The day hospital provides an enhanced package of care for clients in the community, all of which is in line with A Vision for Change. A community high support residence is based at Ráth na Riogh, Leighsbrook Lane, Navan. There is an assertive outreach team for County Meath which provides continuing support for clients in their own community. The team is moving to a seven-day service. In addition, a home-based treatment team provides support for acutely unwell patients in their own home. Other services available to the population of County Meath include the psychiatry of old age team based on Kennedy Road, Navan, while there is an advanced technology room for persons with dementia. The child and adolescent mental health service is located in Hazel House, Navan and Trim primary care centre.

The recently agreed HSE service plan for 2019 outlines the priorities and actions to enhance mental health care nationally this year. This relates also to CHO 8 and County Meath and encompasses a range of services covering acute or community-based child and adolescent mental health services, general adult services and psychiatry of late life. The service plan also acknowledges widely accepted challenges in developing services, including increasing demands and difficulties in staff recruitment and retention, but the objective for the Minister and the HSE is to deliver overall service improvements this year.

See this speech in context