Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

Lives continue to be lost because of the State's failure to provide adequate mental health care. Each year, more than 50,000 people try to access mental health services for the first time through hospital emergency departments. A petition started by the family of the late Adam Loughnane has received more than 17,000 signatures. It calls for alternatives to emergency departments for people in a mental health crisis. Our emergency departments are chaotic at the best of times and are not an appropriate setting for people presenting with mental health issues. The NHS in Britain recently introduced mental health emergency departments while the Mental Health Commission report here confirmed general emergency departments are failing people in a mental health crisis every day. Will the Tánaiste take note of the commission report and NHS decision and provide real alternatives to emergency departments for people experiencing a mental health crisis?

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