Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly. I assure the Senator and the House that mental health is, and will continue to be, a priority concern for the Government. I have heard the genuine concerns of the Senator on this matter. I agree that the public needs to know and that standards have to improve.

I wish to reassure the Senator on the point about money.The recent budget, which saw the mental health allocation increase to nearly €1 billion, is a clear indication of the importance placed on the mental health of the nation by the Government. We have increased the HSE’s mental health budget by more than €245 million since 2012. This has helped to fund a number of initiatives aimed at reducing demand on the mental health services. It has provided, for example, an extra 130 psychiatric nurse undergraduates places each year to come onstream in 2020 to 2021. In addition, 40 postgraduate places have been funded. Together with the recent appointment by the HSE of around 114 assistant psychologists and 20 psychologists into primary care and ten advanced nurse practitioners directly into the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, it is anticipated these posts will help to deal with the increased demand for CAMHS.

Budget 2019 allocated an additional €55 million for the development of mental health services. The additional funding allocated to mental health services since 2012 has provided for the recruitment of nearly 1,700 new development posts in mental health. In the last year, the number of staff across the mental health service has increased by 163. The number of consultants has increased by 14 while the number of nurses has increased by 41. There are widely acknowledged difficulties in recruiting and retaining specialist mental health staff, particularly consultant psychiatrists. We accept there is a problem in that respect.

Every possible option is being pursued in order to recruit while acknowledging the critical impact medical vacancies have on service provision. To tackle this a dedicated medical manpower officer has been appointed. In addition, local management is working with 11 national and international agencies to source suitably qualified candidates. All options are being explored, including the provision of out-of-hours or weekend clinics by a consultant working elsewhere.

The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, will be overseeing the roll-out a tele-counselling pilot project in 2019. This will ascertain the merits of delivering care from a distance using technology and video-conferencing. Tele-counselling can provide a range of services, including psychiatric evaluations, individual, group and family therapy, education and patient management. The Minister of State expects the introduction of tele-health services will expand over time to create additional capacity in psychiatry. Tele-health initiatives may offer flexible opportunities for consultants to work from their chosen location or in supported tele-hubs located in more convenient areas. This should increase the overall attractiveness of the advertised posts resulting in a higher success rate of filling the vacant positions.

The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, has also met the HSE's executive clinical directors to discuss the recruitment and retention issues. He has written to them to request further suggestions on how recruitment might be improved.

The Mental Health Commission has an important part to play in ensuring that our psychiatric units are of a sufficiently high standard. The commission has responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of high standards and good practices in the delivery of mental health services and to take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of persons detained in approved centres.