Seanad debates

Thursday, 7 November 2002

Report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals, 2001: Statements.

 

The policy framework within which psychiatric patients may be discharged from hospital is a matter of contention in my own home. There is a general directive that they cannot be discharged unless there is somewhere for them to go. Many people in the psychiatric service feel that they are being asked to provide a service which is way outside the brief of the psychiatric services. They feel they are being asked to provide a housing service. Part of care in the community is the care of the community, the care of the family. On the specific issue raised by the inspector about homelessness, I counsel this or any other Minister to go beyond the advice from the managers or the doctors and listen to the voluntary sector also. Those in the voluntary sector have a story to tell which is part of the proper integration of the service.

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